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Illinois Death Penalty Vote Results: Death Penalty Ban Passes
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by NowPublic Staff | January 6, 2011 at 06:15 pm
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Illinois Death Penalty Ban Passed On Second Vote: Illinois Death Penalty Vote Results
It was close but the Illinois legislature has voted to ban the death penalty, maintaining a decade long moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois.
The House voted 60 to 54 in favor of repealing the state death penalty, reaching the 60 votes necessary to pass the bill during the lame duck session.
In an earlier vote, the bill received 59 votes in favor of repeal and 58 votes against. 60 votes were needed.
The death penalty moratorium was put in place by Governor George Ryan after revelations that several Illinois convicts that were executed, were actually innocent of the crimes they were accused of.
Republican Rep. Jim Sacia, a former FBI agent from Pecatonica, said threatening defendants with the death penalty often can make them talk to authorities to help solve crimes.
“Don’t take that tool from law enforcement,” Sacia said. Fifteen people currently are on Death Row in Illinois.
The other states to have a death penalty ban are New Mexico, New York, and New Jersey.
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at 15:20 on January 8th, 2011
What if that AZ 9-year old was your daughter or granddaughter in Illinois... What if that AZ judge was your husband, father, son in Illinois... Do you want to pay for this murderer's life in an Illinois jail???... I urge everyone to call Gov. Quinn to veto the Death Penalty Ban bill.