Making the Moratorium Permanent this November

Posted by Mary Dixon

The Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (ICADP) will file legislation during the veto session that abolishes the death penalty and transfers unobligated and unexpended money remaining in the Capital Litigation Trust Fund to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

Ten years ago, a moratorium was placed on executions in Illinois when the death penalty system was found to be so flawed that, since then, 20 innocent men have been released from death row. According to ICADP, Illinois has spent over $100 million on the Capital Defense Litigation Trust Fund since 2003, despite the moratorium. This represents only a portion of the costs associated with maintaining the death penalty. Since the 10 year moratorium on execution began in 2000, the attitude of Illinois voters towards the death penalty has shifted. A public opinion poll recently released by ICADP shows that the majority of Illinois voters would support making the moratorium on death penalty permanent and investing these wasted resources in efforts to combat crime in our neighborhoods.

The ACLU, Catholic Conference, State Bar Association, and others will work with ICADP to advance the House rollcall to the needed 60 votes for passage during veto session and in 2011. The ACLU opposes the death penalty because it denies equal protection of the laws, is cruel and unusual punishment and removes guarantees of due process of law.