He didn’t want to “throw the switch” himself, he said, but thought it was an important part of the criminal justice system.
The issue started weighing heavier on his mind, he said, when he became governor.
Once elected, “I became the executioner,” he said.
Ryan said that as he learned more about the system and its failures, he became increasingly pessimistic about its moral and societal worth.
Looking at the current national situation, Ryan said that there are no attempts to make the system better. People are even attempting to undo his actions as governor.
“As we speak,” he said, “my decision to commute is being challenged by prosecutors.”
Ryan spoke emphatically throughout his address, occasionally banging his fist on the lectern for emphasis.
He said that to be worth preserving, the system must be “fair, equal, just—that’s the American way.”
“This is a matter of life and death,” he told the crowd.