the government thugs are always in a big rush to lock up criminals. but then they lock up innoncent people they are in no rush to clear up their names and lives. Original Article Hundreds waiting for clemency rulings Christopher Wills Associated Press Oct. 23, 2005 12:00 AM SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Robert Gayol spent five years behind bars for a murder he didn't commit. Then the real killers were caught, and Gayol was released to rebuild his life. Two years later, he is among hundreds of people in Illinois waiting for a pardon to officially clear his record and allow him to seek compensation from the state. "I don't think it should be on my record," said Gayol, of Chicago. "It's just unfair." Gov. Rod Blagojevich has about 1,100 clemency petitions on his desk, and his aides say they feel little pressure to act quickly. They deny it's a backlog, saying Blagojevich has no deadline. "Legally, we're not required to respond within any particular time," Blagojevich's senior counsel Matt Ryan said. "The governor's doing his best to be fair and give these important decisions the attention they're due." Some awaiting clemency decisions are hardened criminals taking a desperate shot at freedom. A few, like Gayol, are innocent. Most are petty offenders hoping to have some long-ago crime erased so they can join the military or apply for better jobs. The petitions are first studied by the Prisoner Review Board, which gives the governor a confidential recommendation on whether to grant clemency. Critics say Blagojevich could act on the petitions with a unanimous recommendation, which account for about 40 percent of the requests. But even in those cases, the Democratic governor still has to take a hard look at the requests, spokesman Gerardo Cardenas said. "Just because there's a recommendation from the (board) doesn't mean that the case does not warrant further review," he said. "The clemency power is an extraordinary power and is used judiciously by the governor." Executive clemency got a shot of publicity under former Republican Gov. George Ryan. Just before leaving office in 2003, he pardoned several people on death row and commuted the sentences of the remaining condemned inmates to life in prison over concerns of unjust convictions. After that, clemency requests flooded in. At one point, Blagojevich had 1,600 clemency petitions pending, but Matt Ryan said the governor rejected about 500 this summer from violent criminals.