Illinois last week abolished the death penalty, effective July 1. The decision by Gov. Pat Quinn and the General Assembly ends a system proven to be unjust.
Since 1977, Illinois has wrongly condemned at least 20 people to death and one of them, Anthony Porter, came within 48 hours of execution. Porter had already been fitted for his burial clothes when a stay of execution provided enough time for a team of journalism students to gather information exonerating him in 1999.
Illinois has executed no one since that year and there is now good reason to believe it will never administer another lethal injection. The governor has commuted the sentences of the 15 prisoners on death row and has pledged to commute any death sentence imposed before July 1.
Quinn weighed his decision for months before signing the measure outlawing execution. He spoke to victims’ families and prosecutors as well religious leaders and death penalty opponents. According to news accounts, a fundamental factor in his decision was the clear possibility of the execution of an innocent person. He also said he found little evidence that the death penalty deterred murder.
These reasons have led many to drop their support for executions. Others have argued persuasively that the death penalty is expensive and difficult to administer. Many believe it is morally wrong for the state to cold-bloodedly take a human life.
For whatever reason, the number of executions has declined from a high of 98 in 1999 to 46 last year. Counting an execution in Ohio last week, there have been nine so far this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Once the Illinois law takes effect, there will 16 states and the District of Columbia without the death penalty. The legislatures of New Jersey and New Mexico outlawed capital punishment in 2007 and 2009. Repeal will be considered in several other states this year.
It’s not activist opponents who are responsible for this evolution. The trend away from capital punishment is being carried forward by those who have reluctantly concluded that it cannot be fairly or humanely imposed.
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Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven via e-mail at nickc@journaltribune.com.
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