We applaud George Ryan, the former Governor of Illinois, for recognizing that the death sentence is a "demon of errors." Realizing the immorality and bias of the death sentence, Governor Ryan courageously commuted the death sentences of all 156 prisoners on the Illinois death-row. He pardoned 4 other men who'd been sentenced to death. Like many similar cases in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, those 4 men were not guilty of the crime. Death should not be a penalty used by a decent and civilized society upon any of its citizens. Regardless of what the criminal may "deserve," a civilized society deserves to conduct itself in a decent way, not sink to the level of a murderer. We hope that Mr. Ryan's humanitarian gesture will arouse similar moral inklings in other politicians. Killing people is bad regardless of who does it. It is especially bad when we all do it through our government.