Illinois Likely to End Death Penalty - Will...

Illinois is likely to end the death penalty. The senate approved the ban on capital punishment, and the bill has been sent to Governor Pat Quinn to be signed.

Once the bill is signed, Illinois will become the first state to abolish the death penalty since 2009 when New Mexico abolished it. The state has had a moratorium on capital punishment since January 2000 because several Death Row inmates were found innocent.

Jeremy Schroeder of the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty said, "We've had 20 innocent people on Death Row. It's time to be done with the moratorium and do the right thing." It is completely unacceptable that 20 innocent people were sentenced to death. There have been too many mistakes made in Illinois.

It is not 100% certain that Governor Quinn will sign the bill because he has said that he does support execution for the worst crimes. However, it is very likely that he will. If he does, Illinois will join the 15 other U.S. states and the District of Columbia who do not use the death penalty. Overall, U.S. executions have declined by 12 percent in the last year.

Would you support the end of the death penalty in your state? What do you think about innocent people who spend time on death row or who are executed?

Comments: 5

Doug York Jan 11, 2011, 10:16pm UTC

They will need to go back as soon as they get jails overcrowed. Ha!

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Jeff G. Jan 12, 2011, 2:39am UTC

I was just going to say the same thing. They better be prepared for the gross overpopulation of jail cells and maximum security prisions here in Illinois. I'd rather see no-tolerance laws for drugs and alcohol abuse and first time offenders gets death penalty without even going to trial. Sound insane? We would spend less money paying for funerals than we food allowing people to eat while they rot in prison that are going to be killed anyway.

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Bill Anonymous Jan 12, 2011, 7:32am UTC

Illinois may be sorry they ended the death penalty. Look at the tragedy in Arizona; the death penalty has been recommended for the alleged but not yet convicted killer.
Let's face it, there just are certain cases where life imprisonment makes absoloutely no sense.
I took a "straw poll" at work among six of my customers and all six wanted this perp to get the death penalty. One military man stated "Why should the taxpayers pay to house and feed this jerk for the next 40-50 years?" Absolutely there will be errors in justice but I feel that there are certain cases such as the carnage in Tucson that are clear cut enough to warrant every state having the death penalty for such extreme instances.

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Nichelle Mitchem Sep 17, 2011, 5:58am UTC

Rose,

Great post! Thank you for bringing attention to problems with the death penalty and Illinois and the state of New Mexico's response.

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Dave A. Sep 17, 2011, 9:03am UTC

Of course, we know now that Quinn did sign the bill and that on July 1, Illinois became the sixteenth state to eliminate the death penalty. Others are considering the move. Every developed country in the West, including all of Europe, has done so. The exonerations present very strong argument for ending state-sponsored murder.

The costs are exorbitant--a study of California's death penalty "system" showed that it costs the state in excess of $100 million more than a system involving sentences of life without parole. The death penalty in Texas is applied in only about 3% of capital cases, and Blacks are about four times as likely to receive it as whites. Corrupt, ineffective, biased, and expensive. What government program with those features deserves support? None.

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Illinois Likely to End Death Penalty - Will Quinn Sign Bill?

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