IL: Andrea Lyon and the ex-governor

Andrea Lyon is known for representing clients facing capital punishment. Now she's on the defense team for a former Illinois governor facing federal corruption charges:

If George Ryan hadn't emptied Death Row and pardoned her client, former Death-Row inmate Madison Hobley, would she be volunteering her time today to help the Ryan legal team?

She was candid. "No," she said. But, she went on to explain, she had become friends with Ryan after he left office in the context of his advocacy for abolition of the death penalty. And it was that friendship, along with her belief in his innocence, that inspired her to help him.

Interesting enough. Also worth clicking on for the republished Chicago Tribune story, "Angel of Death Row: For Illinois prisoners facing execution, Andrea Lyon is the last line of defense" (scroll down), and this takeaway quote:

"After you've defended someone's life, one rich man suing another seems so unimportant."