Former Death Row inmate Rolando Cruz spoke out Tuesday for the first time since former Gov. George Ryan commuted 164 death sentences, praising Ryan for doing the right thing but declaring he is in favor of the death penalty if it can be administered fairly.
And the system now, he added, is not fair.
Citing his religious beliefs, Cruz said he believes that the taking of a human life means you should forfeit your own, but that bias and prejudice make the system incapable of working properly.
“Right now for there to be the implementation of the death penalty, for me to agree with it, we would have to be the judges, the witnesses,” he said. “The experts would have to be flawless. They would have to be perfect. We are humans, remember. There is no human on God’s Earth that is perfect.”
Cruz was twice convicted of the 1983 rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico and spent 12 years on Death Row before he was acquitted at a third trial in 1995 amid allegations that police and prosecutors fabricated evidence to frame him. In 1999, seven of the law-enforcement officials were acquitted of charges that they criminally conspired to frame him.
“I know people are going to be taken aback on my stance,” Cruz said, adding that he waited until after Ryan’s announcement to speak his mind because he “didn’t want to embarrass, insult or harm anybody [who believed in me].”
Seated in a West Side restaurant smoking a cigarette, Cruz looks like any businessman with his ironed shirt and slick tie. He speaks with confidence and authority.
Cruz was not aware, however, that Gov. Rod Blagojevich had denounced Ryan’s blanket commutations, and when asked what it would take to support the death penalty outright, Cruz’s explanation was clumsy, confusing and sometimes contradictory.
“The death penalty, based on the implementation itself, must be abolished until it has [been] rectified,” Cruz said. “I believe, because I have faith in mankind, I have faith in our scholars and our leaders in this world, that it is possible. Almost anything within reason is possible. Not everything is, but almost. And I have confidence with our leaders.”
Cruz says he is set financially but “by no means wealthy,” having shared a $3.5 million settlement in 2000 with two other defendants in the Nicarico case. He supplements his income by giving speeches.
Last month, Cruz was pardoned by former Gov. George Ryan, which made Cruz eligible for $100,000 in compensation from the state. Cruz’s attorney, Larry Marshall, called the pardon “official vindication.”
However, in papers filed last November with the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, DuPage County State’s Atty. Joe Birkett refused to give up on the notion that Cruz had some involvement in the death of Jeanine Nicarico. Pat and Tom Nicarico, Jeanine’s parents, testified to the review board they still believe Cruz was involved in their daughter’s murder.
“[The Nicaricos’ belief] doesn’t trouble me because I know, as God knows, I’m not involved in it,” Cruz said Tuesday.
Cruz again accused Birkett and former Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan, who was DuPage state’s attorney during Cruz’s first two trials, of being hypocrites for using him for political gain and then screaming foul when their political opponents, Lisa Madigan and Rod Blagojevich, used his case against them during last year’s elections.
“You’ve used it for over 19 years, now it shouldn’t be used when it’s against you?” Cruz asked. “When you were using it it was OK, but when it’s to expose you it’s wrong? They want both sides and they can’t have it.”
Cruz, though, seems comfortable embracing both sides of the death penalty debate. After spending 12 years on Death Row and eight more years as an activist, Cruz feels he understands the system as well as anybody.
“It’s not a deterrent,” Cruz said of the death penalty. “It’s not cheaper. But it is still a vengeful thing. And I understand, believe me. Because if my daughter was killed or any of my loved ones were killed, and if I knew for a fact that person that killed my loved one was guilty, I would want their life in exchange.”
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Rita RedEye wants to know how you feel about the Illinois death penalty. E-mail her at: ritaredeye@tribune.com.
