Perry slams Illinois' ex-governor for emptying death row

Gov. Rick Perry lambasted the decision by a fellow Republican, former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, to commute the sentences of Illinois' death row inmates as he ended his time in office.

"If he has a problem in his state, which obviously he does...you do it case by case," Perry said at a meeting today with editorial writers from Texas newspapers. "You don't just walk in - because there are some victims of crime that you spit in the eye of."

 Ryan, who left office earlier this month, has called the execution system "arbitrary and capricious and therefore immoral."

 The Texas governor doesn't have the authority to commute death sentences on his own. Perry must receive a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant a pardon, offer clemency or commute a sentence. On his own, he can only grant a 30-day stay of execution.

 Since becoming governor, Perry has drawn praise and criticism from those who have called for changes in Texas' criminal justice system.

 2 years ago, he vetoed a proposed ban on the execution of murderers who suffer from mental retardation, calling the bill flawed and saying Texas law already prevented such executions.

 But he also signed measures approved in the 2001 legislative session to make DNA testing more accessible to inmates, ban racial profiling, improve legal representation for defendants who are poor and increase penalties for crimes motivated by bias or prejudice.

 If Perry had the same authority as the Illinois governor, he made clear he wouldn't use it the same way.

 "All I can do is look at it from a public policy standpoint," Perry said, decrying the across-the-board, sweeping move affecting those who committed heinous crimes against citizens in that state.

 Ryan's action "is not leadership in my opinion," Perry said. "He may have been looking for a legacy for his political purposes," Perry said, "but I don't think that is an appropriate way to deal with that issue."