Skip to main content

Illinois Likely to End Death Penalty

Illinois Likely to End Death Penalty - By a vote of 32-25, the Illinois State Senate sent a bill abolishing the death penalty to Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday.

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

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Contactless Debit Cards

Contactless Debit Cards - Contactless debit cards will make their formal debut in Canada next year with the launch of Interac Flash from Acxsys Corp.’s Interac Association, Canada’s national debit network. Interac’s first two Flash issuers are Scotiabank and RBC Royal Bank, which will roll out their first contactless cards next summer. The first acquirer is TD Merchant Services, a unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank. More issuers and acquirers are on the way, an Interac spokesperson tells Digital Transactions News, though no announcements have been made yet. Interac and the banks tested Flash this summer at some high-volume, small-ticket merchants in downtown Toronto. The spokesperson expects national merchants will be making formal announcements about acceptance. “There’s a lot of excitement in the merchant community,” she says. “Merchants are looking for that faster throughput.” In a statement, the Retail Council of Canada endorsed the new card. “Interac Flash is a welcome and needed ...

Homes Losing Value Fastest

Homes Losing Value Fastest - Homeowners with Citigroup loans in foreclosure-rich Virginia Beach, Va., and Orlando, Fla., are in luck. The mortgage giant announced today that it will impose a moratorium on most foreclosures and modify $20 billion in mortgages to enable homeowners who are not behind on their loans, but in danger of falling behind, to avoid foreclosure. Those that don't fall under the plan? They're in hot water. Well, underwater. Virginia Beach homeowners who bought homes this year possess a paltry 5.2% of home equity, and 34.5% owe more on their property than it's worth, according to Zillow.com, a real estate research group. That's the worst rate in the country. Even in Orlando and Miami, two cities hammered by bad loans and home-equity dips, only 30% and 29% of homeowners are underwater, respectively. It's a similar story in El Centro, Calif., Bakersfield, Calif., and Cumberland, Md. What's certain to follow? Foreclosures. "Negative...

'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' Home on the Market for $1.65M

'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' Home on the Market for $1.65M - "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" fans listen up! A home from the iconic '80's film is on the market for $1.65 million, reports the Huffington Post. Starring as the modern digs of character Cameron Frye in the movie, the glassy house is located in Highland Park, Illinois and has been on the market for a little over a year. More photos reveal the glass-wrapped home features floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a spacious tree-filled lot, according to the listing on Realtor.com. 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' Home on the Market for $1.65M With four bedrooms, three bathrooms and 5,300 square feet of living space, the home served as the setting for the oddball hijinks in the 1986 film. Architects A. James Speyer and David Haid designed the house, built in 1953, with a specialty glass-enclosed garage to store Ben Rose's collection of vintage cars, reported Luxist.com when the home or...