If we used Durbin’s thinking that everyone who has committed a crime has “already paid a significant price and will continue to do so as long as he lives”, then we may as well close up all the prisons right now.

And just because Ryan’s pension has already been taken does not add weight to Durbin’s argument. What then? the person who does not have a pension should not be pardoned just because he doesn’t have a pension when he commits a crime?

This guy was convicted and sentenced to a prison term and he should serve the time according to law. I don’t see why Ryan should get a free pass.

There are some merits to the request, in the sense that it VERY unlikely that the case would have made the media attention were it not for the fact that the guy was governor. The millions pillaged by Custer Battles in Iraq contracting didn’t even get the same media paly as Ryan, and he got a lot less for what he will be serving. On the other hand, don’t we - or shouldn’t we - hold our elected officials to higher standards? I say we leave Ryan’s conviction as it is, since a slap in the face to jurors working for a mere pittance is not warranted here when they had to decide on a guy that bilked countless dollars. And for good measure, up the time that Custer and Battles’ guys have to serve to a bit more, since they were allegedly held in the public confidence in what they were doing.

Let it be known that if you break the confidence of the public, you will pay. If you want to bilk people, do it on your own time, and with someone else’ dime. Leave the taxpayers out of it.

I’ve said before that I don’t care if Ryan is let out of prison, in fact I hope that he is, if only to shine a light on America’s crime and punishment system.

We can all agree that our prisons are way overcrowded, and that building more prisons is not going to be the answer.

Prisons are surely needed to keep those violent criminals we absolutley cannot allow to mingle with the public away from us. By that I mean murderers, rapers, kidnappers, armed robbers, aggrivated assault offenders, etc.

But there are a huge amount of convicted prisoners who did not commit violent crimes, and I say there is no need for us to continue paying to house them in our prisons, or for them to be confined with violent types.

If it is our societies desire to punish non-violent criminals by restricting their freedom, I say we have the means available by electronic monitoring and house arrest.

A convicted “crooked politician” (a redundancy?) would not pose a danger threat to the public if released. I do not mean that he should not have lost his job, or that he should not have a criminal record, but there is no reason for him to be locked away doing hard time in the big house.

I’ve always liked Durbin, but he should not be re-elected next time because of this.

Based on the fact that this man was elected and swore an oath to protect the law I beleive he should serve out the short time he was sentenced to. Let him be a poster child for the rest of the corrupt Illinois politicians. Blagojavich is next followed by Daley.

You Ryan haters (and I never voted for him when I lived in Illinois) - tell me this - who’s he going to hurt if out of prison?

And should his wife in bad health have to suffer more in her December years?

Its precedent that Turbin Durbin wants to set. Start it now, every convicted Il politician serves a year of their sentence then gets commuted. Start it with a (R) Pres to deflect scrutiny when Obama commutes or pardons a whole bunch of politicians.

Should we let the convict out that has an ailing mother/child?

Maybe Ryan should have thought about the consequences, such as leaving his wife in her later years, before he committed his acts.

Amazed: exactly. They are saying that the guy is not a threat to the public. Then why is there a law against what he did anyways? I like being with my wife, so I don’t rob banks. Why then should he get to go home to his after robbing the people? Because he’s too old? I thought that the older you get, the smarter/wiser you get, so those arguments don’t cut it for me. Well put

I agree, leave him in jail. Let him rot. Elected officials not only commit crimes, but they betray the people who put them there. Also, this would be a bad precedent to set.