CHICAGO (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson is asking President Barack Obama and Gov. Pat Quinn to help get former Gov. George Ryan out of federal prison.
Ryan has served three years of a 6½-year sentence on convictions for racketeering, tax fraud and other crimes. Attorneys for the 76-year-old Republican have been lobbying to get him released while a judge considers a motion to throw out parts of his 2006 conviction.
Jackson says he isn't trying to minimize the impact of Ryan's crimes.
But Jackson says he's asking for mercy to allow Ryan to spend time with his wife, Lura Lynn Ryan, before she dies.
Lura Lynn Ryan has been diagnosed with cancer, and her husband's attorneys say she may have only three to six months to live.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
Ryan has served three years of a 6½-year sentence on convictions for racketeering, tax fraud and other crimes. Attorneys for the 76-year-old Republican have been lobbying to get him released while a judge considers a motion to throw out parts of his 2006 conviction.
Jackson says he isn't trying to minimize the impact of Ryan's crimes.
But Jackson says he's asking for mercy to allow Ryan to spend time with his wife, Lura Lynn Ryan, before she dies.
Lura Lynn Ryan has been diagnosed with cancer, and her husband's attorneys say she may have only three to six months to live.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
