in Illinois in the late 1990s, a group of journalism students at Northwestern University were
able to bring about such a change in that state. They began investigating some Illinois prisoners
who claimed to be innocent. Through DNA testing, the students were able to prove that in fact
the prisoners were not guilty of the crimes they had been accused of. Thirteen of these men were
set free, and in 2000, Governor Ryan of Illinois decided to stop carrying out death sentences until
further study could be made of the prisoners' cases.