in a study by the Northwestern students and government officials, many serious problems
were revealed in the legal system. Police officers had been violent and forced suspects to
confess, or they had lied about evidence in court. The reliability of witnesses had not been
properly checked, and physical evidence that might have helped the innocent men had been
thrown out or not stored properly. As a result of this study, Governor Ryan decided, in 2003, to
set free four more prisoners and changed the sentences of 167 others from death to life
imprisonment.