Illinois Gov. George Ryan will discuss the death penalty during an address to DePaul University law students and faculty at noon Jan. 10 at DePaul’s College of Law, 25 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 905. The invitation-only event is hosted by DePaul’s Center for Justice in Capital Cases, which is representing one of the approximately 160 Illinois Death Row prisoners.

Ryan imposed a historic moratorium on Illinois executions Jan. 31, 2000, following the release of 13 Death Row inmates who were found to be wrongfully convicted.

Launched in 2000, DePaul’s Center for Justice in Capital Cases is a resource for capital defense attorneys and a training center for law students who are given opportunities to work on capital cases. Center founder Andrea Lyon, former chief of the Cook County Public Defender’s Homicide Task Force, and students are representing Death Row inmate Madison Hobley, who was convicted in 1990 of setting a 1987 Chicago fire that killed seven people, including his wife and infant son. Hobley’s defenders contend that he was beaten and tortured into confessing by Chicago police and that his conviction is based on faulty evidence.

Lyon and DePaul’s president, the Rev. John P. Minogue, C.M., will introduce the governor, who is expected to give a 45-minute address, followed by a question and answer session.

Media Editor’s Note: Lyon will be available for interviews after the speech. The Hobley family will attend the event.

· Launched in 2000 with funding from DePaul and the Illinois State Appellate Defender’s Office, DePaul’s Center for Justice in Capital Cases is a resource for capital defense attorneys nationwide.

· The center is directed by noted criminal defense attorney Andrea Lyon, former chief of the Homicide Task Force for the Office of the Cook County Public Defender.

· The center provides training resources for Illinois criminal defense lawyers and gives students the opportunity to work on actual capital cases.

· The center represents Illinois Death Row inmate Madison Hobley in his current appeals. The center also provides representation in three other cases: John Bass, who has been federally indicted for capital murder and is awaiting trial in Michigan; Kylleen Hargrave-Thomas, who was granted a new trial this summer and released on bond in Michigan after spending almost 10 years in prison for her boyfriend’s murder; and Yvonne Cryns, a midwife who was acquitted in Illinois of involuntary manslaughter of an unborn child (a separate count of manslaughter of an unborn child resulted in a hung jury).

· College of Law Professor Leonard Cavise represents Illinois Death Row inmate Ronald Barrow in his appeals. Cavise argues that Barrow’s conviction for the 1984 LaSalle County murder of Joseph O’Berto was marred by poor attorney representation, questionable witness testimony and prosecutorial misconduct.

· In March, 2002, DePaul hosted “Death Sentence 2002,” an interfaith forum on the death penalty co-sponsored by the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty and Amnesty International. The two organizations gave Gov. Ryan an award in recognition of his moratorium on executions.

· DePaul’s College of Law was one of the first law schools in Illinois to admit Jewish and female students and was among the first law schools to introduce such educational innovations as the study of negotiation techniques, courses in international criminal law and pre-trial courses in skills techniques.

· The College of Law is a member of the Order of the Coif, the nation’s law school honorary society. Coif membership is nationally recognized as a mark of excellence in law study.

· The most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings rated the DePaul’s College of Law intellectual property and health law programs among the 10 best in the country.

· DePaul’s law school has research centers and institutes that focus on such issues as international human rights, church/state studies, law and science, intellectual property and capital cases.

· The College of Law has graduated more than 12,000 students. Alumni include state and federal judges, municipal, county and state leaders and both mayors Daley.

· With 23,377 students, DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the nation, the largest private university in Chicago and the eighth-largest private, not-for-profit university in the United States. The university encompasses nine colleges and schools on eight Chicago-area campuses. DePaul was founded in 1898 by the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentian) religious community, which follows the teachings of 17th century French priest St. Vincent de Paul. The university’s mission emphasizes academic excellence, service to the community, access to education and respect for the individual.