Since becoming governor in 2009, Quinn has continued the moratorium on signing death warrants observed by his two predecessors. It was put in place by former Gov. George Ryan after a series of shocking revelations that about 20 men had been sent wrongly to Illinois' death row.
That scandalous record was Exhibit A in the campaign to repeal the death penalty in Illinois. During General Assembly debate, speaker after speaker cited the prosecutorial errors and misconduct that led justice astray.
Illinois Likely to End Death Penalty
Horror stories of a different stripe featured in the arguments delivered by supporters of the death penalty. It may have been the most nauseatingly graphic floor debate ever in the Capitol, but appropriate given the topic. They told of innocent youngsters subjected to sexual torture and mutilation, of men castrated in front of wives and lovers.
Supporters cited cases in which only the threat of death caused confessions that solv
Illinois Likely to End Death Penalty
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