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On Wednesday Illinois became the 16th state to abolish the death penalty. In a private ceremony Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill, which had been sent to him by the state legislature in January. Quinn said the decision was the most difficult of his tenure. A moratorium on the death penalty had been declared in 2000 by then Illinois Governor George Ryan. Over the past 11 years the state has employed two commissions to create safe-guards that would ensure no innocent person lands on death row. No reforms were found that were fool-proof and cost effective. Quinn said that after careful review and consideration of the evidence, the possibility of killing an innocent person was too much to risk. He said, “What’s really in question is the system itself. If the system cannot be guaranteed to be 100% error-free, then we shouldn’t have the system. It is just is not right in our democracy and system of justice.” The Governor’s decision is a reversal from his position as a candidate, when he voiced support for capital punishment. This has angered some victim and death penalty advocates who saw him as an ally. Republican State Senator Bill Brady said, “By signing this legislation [Governor Quinn] has once again misled the citizens of Illinois and acted contrary to the principles and promises he stood for during his campaign.” Quinn also commuted the sentences of all 15 inmates on Illinois’ death row to life in prison without parole.

GUESTS: Jeremy Schroeder, Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Stephanie Faucher, Associate Director of Death Penalty Focus

Find out more at www.iacdp.org, and www.deathpenalty.org.