CHICAGO — Ten years after Illinois halted executions, the uncertainty over Gov. Pat Quinn’s pending decision on whether to end capital punishment for good raises a number of questions about the state’s current death penalty cases and the 15 men on death row.
A bill recently passed by the state House and Senate would abolish the death penalty as of July 1, but there are no guarantees the governor will sign it. Quinn supports the death penalty but has also kept in place the moratorium on capital punishment instituted by a predecessor, former Gov. George Ryan, after the death sentences of 13 men were overturned and Ryan concluded the state’s death penalty system wasn’t working.
Quinn’s decision could come any time after the law is certified by the General Assembly, and he’s being lobbied hard by death penalty opponents, prosecutors and victim’s rights groups. The situation has created a period of uncertainty for prosecutors and defense attorneys with pending death penalty cases, as well as those on death row.
via Illinois death penalty decision leaves uncertainty – chicagotribune.com.
RichardWanke.Com 