Social-justice news: Illinois attempts to "fix" the death penalty

Social justice news
February 2001

Change your state of mind: Visit Poverty USA
NY drug offenses could lead to treatment, not jail
A felonious assault on voting rights
Illinois attempts to "fix" the death penalty
The seamless garment wears well at Catholic University
There is life after welfare—it just costs more
U.S. military buys into sweatshop labor

Illinois attempts to "fix" the death penalty
Seeking to improve the quality of justice in the state's troubled death penalty system, the Illinois Supreme Court has adopted new rules that set minimum standards for lawyers, require training for judges, and remind prosecutors of their duty to seek justice, "not merely to convict."

William Purcell, the director of the Peace and Justice Office for the Archdiocese of Chicago called the measures a "move in the right direction" but said the Archdiocese would maintain its opposition to the death penalty in Illinois.

Purcell said that given the continuing problems of institutional racism, the lack of resources for defense attorneys in capital trials, and the likelihood that any reform could still be subject to revisions during the state's budget-making process, "there's no way they can establish a system that's fair and accurate . . . there are way too many structural problems."

"But the bottom line is we'll take what we can get; we'll accept a compromise and keep pushing further against [the death penalty]."

The Archdiocese called for the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois in an April 19 Lenten statement last year. Chicago Archbishop Francis George called on the Illinois legislature to abolish the death penalty as "the surest way to avoid the killing of an innocent person."

George said, "The death penalty is no longer an option in an imperfect justice system," adding that there were "more effective ways of protecting society than the death penalty." His statement reflected the church's stronger position against capital punishment, recently institutionalized in a revision to the official catechism.

The new Illinois judicial rules, announced January 22, are some of the first reforms to be enacted since Illinois Governor George Ryan, reacting to the state's record of 12 executions and 13 exonerations of Death Row inmates, declared the death penalty system seriously flawed and halted executions in January 2000.

The judicial revisions will go into effect in March and institute minimum standards of experience for defense attorneys in capital cases. Lead defense lawyers now must have five years of litigation experience and eight felony jury trials—two of them murder trials—under their belt before taking a capital case. Defense co-counsels must have three years of experience and have handled five felony jury trials before they can be appointed to a capital case.

The Supreme Court will now screen attorneys for admission to a new Capital Litigation Trial Bar—effectively taking the responsibility of determining a lawyer's qualifications out of the hands of local judges, who previously made that decision. The rules also require that indigent defendants be appointed two attorneys and that prosecutors notify defense attorneys as soon as possible—and no later than 120 days after arraignment—that they plan to seek the death penalty. That rule change will allow defense lawyers to begin preparing for the guilt-innocence phase of a trial and sentencing earlier.

Illinois Judges will be required to undergo special training and attend seminars on death penalty issues every two years. The court also amended the state Rules of Professional Conduct, which guide attorneys in their dealings. In a reminder to prosecutors, it notes that the "duty of a public prosecutor or other government lawyer is to seek justice not merely to convict."

One year after Ryan declared the country's first moratorium on capital punishment, the political debate in several states has shifted from executing prisoners as quickly as possible to making certain the system's flaws are minimized. Prompted by Ryan's decision and the growing number of exonerations of Death Row prisoners—now totaling 93 over the past three decades—seven states will consider moratoriums or measures that would abolish the death penalty in their coming legislative sessions. Eight other states have commissioned studies and reviews of the death penalty process.

But even states debating reform continue to execute inmates. In Illinois, the moratorium has not prevented prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, although some prosecutors say it has made them more cautious in deciding which defendants deserve the death penalty.

A commission appointed by Ryan to study the death penalty is continuing its work and expects to complete its work in several months. The commission is studying the entire process, from the initial police involvement through trial and sentencing and even to clemency. There have been no hints of what the commission may propose, but its recommendations could include abolishing the death penalty in Illinois.

More:
Signs of a shifting debate?
USCC calls for moratorium on federal executions
ABA Resources Death Penalty Issues
Campaign To End The Death Penalty:Homepage
Catholics Against Capital Punishment
Death Penalty Infomation
Death Penalty Information Center
Moratorium 2000
NCCB/USCC call for suspension of federal death penalty
Recent NCCB/USCC positions on the death penalty
National Coalition To Abolish the Death Penalty

Back to page top