A moratorium on the death penalty should be enacted in Illinois. The death penalty is a controversial and polarizing issue, and there is much debate surrounding it. There are many valid arguments for and against the death penalty, and it is an emotionally charged issue. In Illinois, there have been 13 executions since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated. There have also been 15 exonerations of Death Row inmates since 1990. These numbers show that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent to crime, and that innocent people have been put to death.
There is also evidence that suggests that the death penalty is disproportionately imposed on minorities and the poor. For these reasons, I believe that a moratorium on the death penalty should be enacted in Illinois. Death Penalty Moratorium Act, which would have imposed a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois, was introduced in the Illinois General Assembly in January 2019. I urge you to support this act, and to call on your representatives to support it as well. Thank you for your time.
Individuals and organizations are calling for a moratorium on state executions due to the recent releases of newly freed Death Row convicts. The cases of just a few prisoners suggest that this would be a necessary measure to preserve innocent lives. Illinois Death Row inmate Anthony Porter was released from prison after his murder conviction was overturned following the presentation of new evidence, having served 17 years in jail.
In 1999, 13 Death Row inmates were released from Illinois prisons after it was discovered that they had been wrongfully convicted. There are many reasons to support a moratorium on the death penalty. First and foremost, the possibility of executing an innocent person is too high a price to pay.
In 2015, the Death Penalty Information Center reported that there have been 156 Death Row exonerations since 1973- that’s one person every 4.5 months. Studies have also shown that the death penalty is disproportionately imposed on minorities and the poor.
A 2003 study found that minority defendants are 3 times more likely to be sentenced to death than white defendants in comparable cases. Another study found that defendants whose trial lawyers failed to investigate their background or present mitigating evidence were 6 times more likely to be sentenced to death.
The Death Penalty is also an expensive process- both in terms of the cost of prosecuting a capital case and in terms of the cost of housing Death Row inmates. A study by the Death Penalty Information Center found that the average cost of a Death Penalty trial is $1 million, while the average cost of a non-death penalty trial is $400,000. Death Row inmates also require more resources in terms of housing and security, which means that they are a drain on prison resources.
There are also many questions about the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime. A study by two professors at Emory University found that each execution deters an average of 18 murders. However, that same study found that the addition of just one year to the prison sentence of a murderer has the same deterrent effect.
The death penalty is a controversial and polarizing issue, but the recent exonerations of Death Row inmates illustrate the need for a moratorium on executions. With so much at stake, it is simply too risky to continue with capital punishment.
On May 16, 1913, less than two days before he was to be hanged, newspaper reports claimed that his fortune had reversed. According to USA Today, Porter’s release was the result of a Northwestern University professor and students’ intensive research. The information obtained indicated that Porter had been convicted incorrectly.
Was the revelation of the photos and Porter’s subsequent release a fortunate happenstance, or were they instead a result of good fortune? Not very likely, according to DeWayne Wickham of USA Today. He adds that since capital punishment was reinstated in the United States in 1976, 489 people sentenced to die have been put to death while 76 Death Row inmates have been set free.
Of these 76, 18 were exonerated by DNA tests. The Death Penalty is a controversial and often debated topic. In the United States, capital punishment is legal in 29 states and the federal government. Illinois is one of those states where the Death Penalty is still legal. However, there has been a moratorium on executions in Illinois since 2000 when then-Governor George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions after four Death Row inmates were found to be innocent. The death penalty was abolished altogether in 2011 by Governor Pat Quinn.
There are a number of reasons why a moratorium on the Death Penalty should be enacted in Illinois. First and foremost, there is always the possibility of wrongful conviction. As seen in the case of Anthony Porter, even with the use of DNA evidence, innocent people can still be convicted and sentenced to death. There is also a significant cost associated with Death Penalty cases. Death Penalty cases are often more expensive than non-Death Penalty cases, due to the additional legal fees and the costs of housing Death Row inmates.
In addition, there is evidence that suggests that the Death Penalty is not an effective deterrent to crime. A study by the Death Penalty Information Center found that states with the Death Penalty actually had higher murder rates than states without the Death Penalty. The study also found that from 1990 to 1999, 88% of counties in the United States had no executions, yet these counties accounted for 71% of all murders.
Finally, there is the moral argument against the Death Penalty. Many people believe that it is wrong to take a human life, no matter what the circumstances. There is also the concern that innocent people could be put to death. In Illinois, there have been 20 Death Row inmates who have been exonerated since 1977.
Capital punishment has long been opposed on a variety of grounds. Many people all over the world often emphasize deterrence of crime as a justification for capital punishment. However, comprehensive research, including the 1994 FBI Uniform Crime Report, reveals that capital punishment does not act as a deterrent to crime. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, capital punishment not only fails to deter criminal behavior; in states that have either abolished or reinstated it, crime and murder rates have remained unchanged.
Death penalty abolitionists also argue that capital punishment is a violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects citizens from “cruel and unusual punishments.” Death by lethal injection, currently the most common method of execution in the United States, has been deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court.
However, many death row inmates have raised concerns about potential pain and suffering associated with this method of execution. In 2014, an inmate in Oklahoma was reportedly left “writhing and groaning” on the gurney for over 40 minutes during his execution. In 2015, an inmate in Arizona was seen gasping and snorting for nearly two hours before he died.
