>> Funeral services were held this afternoon for former Illinois Governor George Ryan who died last week at 91 years old.

The single term Republican leaves behind a complicated history.

He spent 5 years in federal prison after being convicted of fraud and bribery charges among other actions during his term as secretary of state.

However, while in the governor's mansion, Ryan commuted the death sentences of 167 men on the state's death row in 2003.

The move eventually led to a moratorium and abolition of the death penalty in Illinois.

Joining us now are 2 of those former inmates who Ryan removed from death row Renaldo Hudson, who spent 37 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and is now the director of education at Illinois Prison Project.

And Stanley Howard who served 39 years in prison and was later exonerated of murder charges.

He is co-founder of the Death Row 10 and coauthor of the book tortured by Blue Chicago Police torture story.

Gentlemen, thank you for joining us.

We're glad you're here.

Thank you.

Thank Rinaldo.

Let's start with you, please.

You said that you had mixed feelings when you're death.

Sentence was commuted under then Governor Ryan, why was that?

>> Well, is because I was able to see on death row.

You had immediate access to lawyers.

And once you went to the general population, those.

Those conditions that are just eliminated.

You become a number and a crowd of people that has been just dismissed.

And sorry for you, whereas with the death penalty, you have automatic appeals.

And so that was one of the things then also just thinking about how hard it is to think about never having hope.

Of ever being released.

That just was hard to just process.

And so many people continue to face that because you was commuted from death life basically.

So now you have no hope of release because year sentence to spend life the rest of the >> And that was like a struggle for me.

Someone who had acknowledge my And so that's the other thing.

One of the things that I can appreciate about the governor is that he wasn't just dealing with innocence issue.

He was done with a broken system that was even unjust to those of us cause harm.

And so it's really complicated.

But it's important to discuss.

Stanley, you said that you had a sense of relief when you were exonerated, but you still continue to serve.

>> A separate conviction.

39 years total.

Was that like for you?

And to be clear, that conviction was for a armed robbery to Chicago police officers.

Yes, I has been 39 years of incarceration.

It's been 20 years of more up incarceration at a House party not going to wind.

>> I end up with Harden with other individual and passionately on his mask.

I should win home that particular day.

Also.

But a ton 20 years in prison, it was horrible.

I'm the governor I took the action that you took because you not only save my life, but he also say that a lot of lives that was also really Jeopardy.

Thank Our call league Lynch today.

>> do still have a claim of innocence on that other crimes?

appealing that case right now West who have won the time.

But he says quick cops, Klain, I gave them a lot case appeal right now.

although we often often talk about death row in the abstract, most of us have no clue what it's like.

What can you tell us about what death row was like?

>> Yeah, you know, thank Dennis.

The really important question and it's like imagine.

Someone taking a revolver.

The college Russian way.

And every day you wake up wondering will that are good people.

You know, during my stay on death row, 12 people went to the execution.

And they would walk.

Those men pass us.

And it was so hard because what do you say to someone?

It's one thing to, you know, a broken drug out act and you do some harm.

It's something to see something so clinical.

So clean, so mechanical.

But does the ultimate harm?

And so emotionally?

It was just hard to say.

How do you say goodbye to someone walking by saying I'm about to die.

And so I always to day, I can still hear some of those and it's been a lot of use and is still say all of that with the knowledge that that will be you one day or that the application is you was for me because the thing that I always tell people is.

>> With sobered me wasn't the sentence of death.

With so many be is when I woke up to my home and I was like, man, I now know.

The depth of what it feel like to be guilty.

And for a system to say their punishment of me is to do what they told me it so bad to do.

And so I was like.

Do need that.

I don't.

fact, I can't enough to start to change my life in a way.

Dana OK, if I'm going to die, then I'm going to make sure I least learned what forgiveness felt like.

And what it look like versus simply, I'm just going to be exterminated.

I wanted to have some value.

I wanted someone to care and that I was being eliminated and so many people don't get that.

Stanley, you said that you form relationships with other men on death row.

What were those like and what wasn't necessary?

>> They friendly to me.

first got I was I was a kid.

>> 23 years.

All.

And to be.

Put inside of a sale.

23 24 hours a day.

16 years.

I think that not only was act, which Chicago police.

I was also talked about state Illinois because of the isolation solitary confinement at indoor, I was mentally tortured.

So I the but this guy was there that was somewhat able to grab me and what we do this me what I needed to go all-in head family is you are related to.

We built a family.

Hope strong.

Been there like my brother would not go and I have many others, at least eye, but not a license.

And when found it was on that, which is to buy, was also it really hit home >> know that you've been out of prison since 2020, which is when Governor Pritzker granted your clemency application.

Did you ever get to form a relationship with Governor Ryan?

>> I I handle it.

And this may sound really where I have to it is.

I had this kind of mix kind of feelings about governor.

I and I'll be honest with you today.

It's like it landed Whitney, the wait of the decision that he made.

If that makes sense, when I was in the midst of my own stuff like you can have whats called tunnel vision and so I have to admit that I was wobbling in area.

And when I there and listened to his heart being shared to the people, that was the closest to I really melted.

You know, the yesterday began to melt because I'm like, wow, like imagine having that responsibility.

To carry that out.

The ultimate act legally and saying, man, I don't want to be this person.

And I was like, man, I don't want to be the person that caused the So imagine being the person to say I'm going to.

You know, execute you.

And when I heard his family shared heart, it is noted me.

You know, I don't know if that's personal, it just really felt appropriate to be there to honor someone did save to Stanley's point who saved so many people's lives.

As we mentioned, he had his own complicated history and ended up spending time in prison.

Federal prison himself for fraud, racketeering charges.

>> Stanley, how do you think that will factor into his legacy?

People talk about that all the time.

But if you look at the facts what was going on with the criminal justice system, which is still going on now today and his wife.

But to go there live in commission.

>> They discovered that the system was corrupt, unjust, emotional also and big we fall.

formed legislated to do is simply the fuel even implement that today come forth with recommendations.

I hear people talk about what happened with family, feel for But governor, I had nothing to do with it.

And WeGo Prosecuting.

Politicians for horse trading.

In my opinion, my we dig up to a question all the rest of because all about this.

Yeah.

And well, I wish I would head a billion Illinois.

Certainly make me do it when certainly has a history of the and we know this and hopefully we've got some good ones who are at work we will covering more corruption in Illinois, but that is where we'll have to leave He's 76 years incarcerated between the 2 of