Ill. Gov. Unsure of Death Penalty

23/04/01 - By NICOLE ZIEGLER DIZON, CHICAGO  - Gov. George Ryan, who suspended executions in Illinois, said Monday he's still struggling with whether he supports the death penalty, adding that he couldn't ``throw the switch'' on convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh The Republican spoke to law students at Loyola University Chicago about his decision last year to impose a moratorium on executions after some death row inmates were declared innocent.In the past, Ryan has said he backed capital punishment if it were applied fairly and left no room for error. But when a student asked him Monday if he could support a flawless death penalty, he responded: ``I don't know.''``I'm still struggling with it,'' he said. ``I couldn't throw the switch on this guy, McVeigh, and he was a terrible guy.''McVeigh is scheduled to die by injection in Indiana on May 16 for the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, which killed 168 people.Ryan, a former state lawmaker, told students that when the Illinois House was debating whether to reinstate the death penalty in the late 1970s, he voted for reinstatement even though he knew he couldn't pull the switch.Since 1977, Illinois has freed 13 men from death row and put another 12 to death.``I wish now that I hadn't given the unqualified words of support that I gave at the time,'' Ryan said.