Today, the Illinois Senate passed legislation to abolish the death penalty in Illinois. I followed several aspects of this bill. Primarily, you have organizations simply known as Innocent Projects pushing for the new law and prosecutors and victim's family citing that the death penalty deters crime and offers justice for the victims and their families. I offer the following for you to ponder.
Former Governor George Ryan is known not only for being corrupt, but also for his action when he commuted sentences for death row inmates on January 11, 2003. The picture only becomes clear when you take a step back in time to 1972 when the Supreme Court voided the death penalty citing it was racially discriminatory and haphazard. I don't know if I agree with the Supremes, but I do agree that Ryan knew a problem existed with our criminal justice system and he knew corrective measures had to be taken Good call on his part.
Our wake up call to abolish the death penalty should of occurred on January 21, 1987. Darby Tillis and Perry Cobb become the first two Illinois Death Row prisoners exonerated. Tillis was convicted of a crime where no physical evidence could connect him to the crime itself. Perry Cobb was in the same boat. Their conviction, after reading articles about the case, in my opinion was the result of one witness for the prosecution. No physical evidence tied either one of them to the crime. Note to the taxpayer: Perry and Cobb were only convicted after their 3rd jury trial. Obviously, 2 juries felt that the evidence presented was not enough to convict. The prosecutor believed if you fail, keep trying until you get it right all at the cost to the taxpayer.
Perry and Cobb are just the beginning for Illinois. Gary Dotson soon followed but he was exonerated through DNA. DNA was fairly new when Dotson was freed but now DNA seems to either make or break a case. Next came Joseph Burrows, Rolanda Cruz, Alejandro Hernandez, Verneal Jimerson, Dennis Williams, Gary Gauger, Carl Lawson and Anthony Porter. The number of those exonerated reached ten in 1999.
If you have read this far, are you still in favor of retaining the death penalty? Add a few more to the list such as Steven Smith, Ronald Jones, and Steve Manning. The list then doubles to an astounding 20 exonerations just in Illinois. As of October 27, 2010 there have been 138 exonerations in 26 different states.
If you have read this far, are you still in favor of retaining the death penalty? Add a few more to the list such as Steven Smith, Ronald Jones, and Steve Manning. The list then doubles to an astounding 20 exonerations just in Illinois. As of October 27, 2010 there have been 138 exonerations in 26 different states.
I understand the families of victims want justice when a loved one had died as a result of a heinous crime. What kind of justice are these families getting when the wrong person is executed? A common argument by many is that the cost to the taxpayer is excessive for the upkeep of these criminals. What will it cost the taxpayer if an innocent person is executed? After all, we are a society that sues over hot coffee being spilled in our lap because we did not realize how hot the coffee was when we ordered it.
This is the Voice of Reason....
