George Ryan Quotes

Everybody believes that capital punishment is wrong, but when they look at certain cases, they're quick to say, 'Put them to death,' or scream 'capital punishment.'

I was personally opposed to the death penalty, and yet I think I have probably asked for the death penalty more than most people in the United States.

I do not criticize anyone’s position on the death penalty as I myself have held every different position at one point of my career or another.

Every time a mayor makes a big decision, half the people are against him. After his first 5 decisions the only ones left who support him are his family and a few friends.

Anyone who believes in capital punishment should be shot

I will admit, like Socrates and Aristotle and Plato and some other philosophers, that there are instances where the death penalty would seem appropriate.

I support the death penalty. But I also think there has to be no margin for error.

Personally I am very much against the death penalty for several reasons.

And as the hour approached for the execution, in his own mind, Collins became both the executioner and the victim. He would pace up and down, transformed in almost a kind of exorcism when he knew he was responsible for taking someone's life.

The death penalty issue is obviously a divisive one. But whether one is for or against, you can not deny the basic illogic - if we know the system is flawed, if we know there are innocent people on Death Row, then until the system is reformed, should we not abandon the death penalty to protect those who are innocent?

I'm not driving to be a popular president.

As mayor, I'm in the frying pan. I'm just sitting here on the griddle now, and I've got to really think, you know, do I want to stay here on the griddle?

To be a politician must not be a pleasure always.

I could not afford to hang men for votes.

[Describing the presidency:] No one in the country is more assailed by divergent advice and clamorous counsel.

I just felt sick. I was actually executing people. I knew it was wrong, and I should have voted against it. But I didn’t.

The people would be just as noisy if they were going to see me hanged.

The ends do not always justify the means

In talking with affirmative-action administrators and with blacks and whites in general, I found that supporters of affirmative action focus on its good intentions and detractors emphasize its negative effects. It was virtually impossible to find people outside either camp.

I have not always held the position I do today on the life issue.

The issue of immigration is one of the most complex and politically difficult issues because there is so much passion on all sides.

I have found myself under a wave of investigation and criticism from the moment I was elected. Since my first days in the Prime Minister's Office I have had to fight against evil attacks while I have been busy making decisions on crucial matters related to Israel's security and existence.

Bullfighting is every bit as ghoulish and savage as its critics warn, but it is equally as powerful and moving as its supporters insist. Perhaps the most vexing aspect about it is that neither group is wrong: they are both telling the truth.

If you want to get an audience quiet, just say "abortion" and everybody shuts up and the tension in the room is spectacular.

The punishment of death is the war of a nation against a citizen whose destruction it judges to be necessary or useful.