Under American justice, you’re innocent until proven guilty. But even seasoned prosecutors can make a slip, as U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald proved while announcing a sweeping indictment against former Gov. George Ryan on Wednesday.
The 91-page indictment lays out a complex series of schemes alleging a pattern of corruption by Ryan during more than a decade in public office, mostly during his tenure as secretary of state.
Though Fitzgerald took pains to point out he didn’t “want to jump past the presumption of innocence,” he misspoke during a question-and-answer session after the indictment was announced.
“Obviously we’re at an indictment stage. An indictment is an effort to begin a trial. Obviously, he’ll have his day in court, and we assume he’ll plead guilty,” Fitzgerald said.
A colleague stepped up and whispered in his ear.
“Plead not guilty. I’m sorry. That’s why I have a lawyer,” Fitzgerald amended. “Make that very clear. We assume he’ll plead not guilty. We understand that. And I don’t want to jump past that as I almost accidentally did.”
