1. - chris - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:15 pm:

   Commendations to the Governor for doing not what was easy, but what was right. And to all of those who have labored to make this day possible. We are a better state for all of your efforts.




2. - Honest Abe - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:23 pm:

   I have a problem with his decision to commute the sentences of several convicted killers on death row such as Brian Dugan.

   Pat Quinn once said that the death penalty was appropriate for the worst criminals.




3. - Expat - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:29 pm:

   The church bells are ringing in Rome.




4. - Fed up - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:34 pm:

   Honest Abe
   By now everyone should know not to believe anything Pat Quinn says.




5. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:34 pm:

   A wise decision, a victory of reason over passion.

   “Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defence.–Let those materials be moulded into general intelligence, sound morality, and in particular, a reverence for the constitution and laws:”

   Abraham Lincoln
   The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions:
   Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois
   January 27, 1838




6. - MrJM - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:38 pm:

   @Fed up - Or prosecutors in capital cases.

   – MrJM




7. - amalia - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:40 pm:

   I think Quinn should have spoken with the families of victims of the remaining inmates. and, Mr JM, in one of the cases of the exonerated, the defense attorney…..a private attorney….fell asleep. go rip on lawyers of both sides not just prosecutors.




8. - Fed up - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:44 pm:

   Mrjm

   Prosecutors that lie in any case should be held accountable the same as a Gov. That seems to lie in every case.




9. - AnonX - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:48 pm:

   I wish I lived in a world as black and white as you do, Fed up.




10. - Muskrat - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:49 pm:

    Abolishing the DP serves both justice, because of the mistakes inherent in the system, and mercy, because killing even the guilty diminishes us.




11. - Small Town Liberal - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:50 pm:

    - I wish I lived in a world as black and white as you do, Fed up. -

    If you follow this blog much you’re going to be forced to as long as Fed up keeps commenting.




12. - N'ville - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 12:59 pm:

    -A one point increase in the income tax for education and property tax relief.
    -I’ve cut $3 billion since I’ve been Governor.
    -We should concentrate on fiscal, not social, issues.
    -I support the death penalty.
    And it’s only March of year one…




13. - Aldyth - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:00 pm:

    Until our criminal justice system achieves a state of perfection, we have no business applying the death penalty.

    Having said that, I sympathize with the families who now feel that justice has been denied. When I read about what some of these murderers did to their victims, I can understand why their families want the perpetrator to die. In their shoes, I’d want the perpetrator to die horribly and it still wouldn’t be enough.




14. - Fed up - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:00 pm:

    Anox

    What so hard about feeling Quinn lying to voters about his position on the death penalty before one of the closest elections in Illinois history is wrong. All Quinn had to do in Sept and Oct was state he supported repealing the death penalty but he didn’t do that he stated he supported the death penalty. In this case it is as easy as Black and White Quinn lied and that is wrong.




15. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:02 pm:

    ===Quinn lied and that is wrong. ===

    Or he changed his mind after the GA passed a bill that almost nobody thought could be passed.

    Take a breath, man.




16. - Jasper - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:08 pm:

    I kept hearing rumors that Quinn was going to amend this one. It took courage not to do so. I didn’t think he had it in him. He showed courage and deserves credit.




17. - D.P. Gumby - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:09 pm:

    Honest Abe–the irony of citing Brian Dugan for retention of the death penalty makes me do a spit-take! Hello…DuPage Cty Prosecutorial and Police misconduct, Wrongful Convictions of 3 innocents to Death, perjured testimony, phony experts, etc. That whole case is a Poster for abolition!




18. - Fed up - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:11 pm:

    Rich he changes his mind alot. Right after an election. How’s that education surcharge? Did he change his mind about firing U of I trustees that won’t resign. Rich it’s not a one time thing it’s a pattern of behavior.




19. - Small Town Liberal - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:15 pm:

    Fed up - It’s called compromise, and when you’re a real leader facing real problems you have to do it sometimes.




20. - Jasper - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:29 pm:

    Interesting to see that people don’t seem to unerstand what a “lie” is.




21. - dupage dan - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:29 pm:

    We will always be able to point to a particularly heinous crime and a truly evil criminal - Dugan being a perfect example of that. D.P.Gumby had it right, tho. DuPage prosecutors engaged in a particularly sinister action of misconduct that ranged over many years and prosecutors by pursuing the wrong men for this crime despite ALL evidence pointing to Dugan, and Dugan alone.

    Dugan does not deserve to draw in the same air that the Nicarico family breathes. Nonetheless, we must not countenance a DP system that would lead to an innocent person being put to death by the gov’t. That evil MUST be prevented. And the only way to accomplish that is to abolish the death penalty.




22. - dupage dan - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:31 pm:

    BTW, I have no problem calling what PQ did a flip flop, tho I support his decision. I didn’t vote for PQ, either. A proper decision is a proper decision despite the other facts.




23. - Jasper - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:40 pm:

    Adding — I haven’t seen anything from Quinn in the past year where he stated strong support for the death penalty. Instead, he supported the moratorium.




24. - Carl Nyberg - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:40 pm:

    Until Richard M. Daley takes responsibility for his role using erroneous confessions obtained through torture and protecting the torturers, his opinion on the death penalty is meaningless.




25. - ChambanaMan - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:40 pm:

    It is more noble to change one’s mind or even lie about one’s future intentions and end up doing the moral thing, then it is to stick to one’s word and continue to do something immoral.

    I will give Fed Up credit- it is dishonorable to change positions on an issue that might have changed the outcome of an election. But I would caution this logic from going too far; if so, it would forbid any legislature or representative from ever changing their mind on any issue mentioned during elections. Which covers just about any issue worth changing your mind about.




26. - titan - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:46 pm:

    I wonder whether it would have been possible to maintain the possibility of the penalty, while addressing the main problems with administering - things such as shifting prosecution of capital cases by the AG’s office instead of local SAOs.




27. - Carl Nyberg - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:49 pm:

    I go back and forth on the death penalty. Some days I think we should expand it to include more crimes committed by corporate executives. Some days I think we should abolish it.




28. - Im with fed up. - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:50 pm:

    STL its called no back bone or core principles. FED up im with you. True leaders don’t say one thing and consitently do the other, they state their principles and positions and follow them. 3 months and 6 lie..sorry changes of heart. At least I know I’ll be entertained the next couple years between christie, quinn, charlie sheen, and IL the democrat refugee state.




29. - jerry 101 - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 1:56 pm:

    While Daley was the States Attorney, he protected Jon Burge. That’s about all that I need to know about Daley’s opinion on these matters.

    He aided and abetted the torture and imprisonment of innocent people. He was an accessory to one of the darkest chapters of Chicago history.

    And he protected the people who were actually guilty of heinous crimes for as long as possible.

    That said, good job by the Governor. It’s a chilling idea that the state has the power to put it’s own citizens to death.




30. - amalia - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 2:09 pm:

    chilling is what happens in Illinois all too often…hundreds of murders a year. stare at the facts, the victims, and what happened to them. here’s a start, google Renaldo Hudson appeal and mourn for 71 year old Folke Peterson.




31. - Wumpus - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 2:10 pm:

    Great, with no death penalty what do we do with the “Fleebaggers”?




32. - Jasper - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 2:11 pm:

    Amalia, do you believe that those who oppose the death penalty do not care about the victims?




33. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 2:27 pm:

    ===Or he changed his mind after the GA passed a bill that almost nobody thought could be passed.===

    Or he personally supports it but is bowing to the will of the people in this matter.




34. - amalia - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 2:28 pm:

    Jasper, as you have asked me this before, you know my answer. and so I will expect to see that you and others are now busily working to ensure that the evil stay in prison, that increasing safety measures for guards in prisons are in place, and that the concentration is placed on finding justice for the innocent who actually died.




35. - Honest Abe - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 2:31 pm:

    I really believe that the imposition of the death penalty should be exceedingly rare, but it ought to be available to prosecutors, if warranted. Those who wantonly kill police officers or firefighters in the performance of their duties, for example, or child killers or heinous serial killers.

    If you doubt that the death penalty is justified in some instances, read “The Devil in the White City.”

    I generally agree that Richard M. Daley was not a good prosecutor. To find a worse Cook County State’s Attorney, you would have to turn back the clock to the 1940s.




36. - Jasper - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 2:32 pm:

    Actually, Amalia, you haven’t. It sure seems like you believe that anybody who opposes the death penalty doesn’t care about the victims. Is that the case or not? Do you believe that those who oppose the death penalty don’t care about the vicims?




37. - Knome Sane - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 2:39 pm:

    @amalia

    =and that the concentration is placed on finding justice for the innocent who actually died.=

    Does this include death row inmates who might have been executed, yet innocent?




38. - ChambanaMan - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 2:46 pm:

    @amalia
    I would hope those measures would be pursued regardless of any death penalty. No arguments there. I would caution against using the word “evil”, but then I looked at the 15 illinois row-mates… Might be accurate. If they did the crime. That is where the issue lies; mistakes have been made, and might be made again.

    @Jasper
    Nice use of consecutive logical fallacies. The first being a complex question that more resembles a statement “I.e. You think we don’t care!”, and the second being a straw man fallacy to compliment the first… While I applaud a more eloquent way of being unpersuasive, argue the issue without them.




39. - fed up - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 3:00 pm:

    From Pat Quinns interview with Chicago tribune editorial board, prior to November general election.

    Question 4
    Do you support the death penalty and, if so, would you lift the current unofficial moratorium or do you believe more reforms must be implemented.

    PAT QUINN: I have no immediate plans to lift the state’s moratorium on the death penalty. Although I support capital punishment when applied carefully and fairly, I am deeply concerned by the possibility of an innocent person being executed. The current moratorium gives the state an opportunity to reflect on the issue and create safeguards ensuring the death penalty is not being imposed improperly. It is unconscionable that an innocent person could be put to death in Illinois. Even under the moratorium, prosecutors have continued to seek death sentences for convicted murderers, and juries have agreed that the death penalty was appropriate in many of those cases. Although the moratorium gives the state of Illinois time to review all aspects of capital punishment, and makes it possible to put effective safeguards in place, the death penalty underscores our shared belief as a society that some crimes deserve the most severe punishment, when handed down fairly and justly

    Read more: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/your-doubting-thomas/2010/11/pat-quinn-and-bill-brady-on-the-issues.html#ixzz1G8ct7mi3




40. - CircularFiringSquad - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 3:05 pm:

    An interesting day.
    IL voters could have picked the two posters boys for wrongful prosecutions —jimRYAN amd BrickheadJoe — instead IL picks Quinn.One of Big Jim’s legacies is finally snuffed out.
    Now we can have decades of debate from clueless corner on reinstating the death penalty




41. - Angry Chicagoan - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 3:06 pm:

    This is a very good day. We’ve ended a gross distortion in our criminal justice; we’ve gotten rid of something that both condemns the innocent and gives the guilty an enormous incentive to expensively game the system; and we’ve gotten ourselves out of the company of the likes of Iran, Sudan and China when it comes to criminal justice.




42. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 3:22 pm:

    I have no problems with the death penalty in theory, but the way it’s been applied in Illinois the last 30 years shows that it’s unworkable in practice. If you’re upset about this bill being signed, blame the prosecutors and juries who put innocent people on death row. They’re the ones who created a need for the bill.




43. - lincoln's beard - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 3:26 pm:

    Justice Blackmun was entirely right in his dissent to Callins v. Collins (http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/93-7054.ZA1.html). It turns my stomach to imagine myself as a participant in a legalistic, governmental, bureaucratic process that ends in the intentional, ritualized death of another human being. I can’t imagine that prospect appealed to Governor Quinn, either.




44. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 3:37 pm:

    Debating the death penalty is one thing. Actually having to put your signature to life and death decisions is another.Give Quinn a break on this one.




45. - Bill - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 3:40 pm:

    == To find a worse Cook County State’s Attorney, you would have to turn back the clock to the 1940s.==
    Well, no not exactly. There was JacK O’malley. Bernard Carey, Hanrahan, and so on…..




46. - Boone Logan Square - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 3:58 pm:

    I am proud of Governor Quinn today, proud of former Governor Ryan for his actions on this issue, and proud to live in Illinois. On at least this issue, we have rejoined the civilized world.




47. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 4:15 pm:

    –While Daley was the States Attorney, he protected Jon Burge. That’s about all that I need to know about Daley’s opinion on these matters.

    He aided and abetted the torture and imprisonment of innocent people. He was an accessory to one of the darkest chapters of Chicago history.–

    Absolutely true and right, every word.




48. - dupage dan - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 4:28 pm:

    fed up,

    That whole quotation you posted indicates a thoughtful man who was looking at all the possibilities. In it he states he has no plan on lifting the moratorium. He didn’t. He also indicates a strong feeling about the possibility of innocent people being wrongfully executed. Finally, PQ, indicates that he looks for the moratorium to give “the state of Illinois time to review all aspects of capital punishment, and makes it possible to put effective safeguards in place”.

    So, the state had some time. PQ reflected. He decided it was not possible to apply the death penalty “fairly and justly”. Hardly an ironclad flip flip, sir.

    Look, I am NOT a PQ supporter. I am not a liberal namby pamby tree hugger. There are just too many opportunities for overzealous, unscrupulous prosecutors to wield the enormous power they have to bring the death penalty into a case. There are too many examples of where that power has led to innocent people coming too close to being murdered by the state, by ME. I won’t be a party to that.

    I have known some murderers in my time. Despicable human beings who should be denied the right to walk the earth. Prove to me, to others who write here, how we can be sure that WE don’t become those despicable human beings who have murdered AND who should be punished for our crime.

    Flip flop be d@^^^ed. PQ did the right thing.




49. - Jasper - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 4:41 pm:

    ChambanaMan

    You need to spend a bit more time studying logic. A reference to an argument made by a specific person is not a “straw man.” In fact, I made reference to a specific argument of a particular individual. That person has yet to accept or reject my conclusions as to his/her argument, so we really don’t know if what I suggested is what he/she intended to argue.

    You may or may not accept or agree with that individual and you may not believe that the argument [apparently] made by that individual represents the argument of a larger group. But that has nothing to do with it being a straw man. It wasn’t. It was very real. It had a name.

    So if you are going to lecture me, do some research first. Actually study logic. Don’t just quote what you remember from one “Introduction to Logic” class taken as a soph. Because when you do, you end up doing nothing more than spouting psuedo intellectual crap that doesn’t advance any argument at all.




50. - Bigtwich - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 4:47 pm:

    I find it strange that a number of posters who do not seem to believe the government can do anything right are so strong in defense of the death penalty. As for the Governor calling up Mr. Lincoln.

    “Mr. Lincoln watched his grief for a minute, and then exclaimed, ‘by jingo, Butler or not Butler, here goes!’ Writing a few words and handing them to the old man. The confidence created by Mr. Lincoln’s words broke down when he read - ‘Job Smith is not to be shot until further orders from me. - ABRAHAM LINCOLN.’

    ‘Why,’ said the old man, ‘I thought it was to be a pardon; but you say, ‘not to be shot till further orders,’ and you may order him to be shot next week.’ Mr. Lincoln smiled at the old man’s fears, and replied, ‘Well, my old friend, I see you are not very well acquainted with me. If your son never looks on death till further orders come from me to shot him, he will live to be a great deal older than Methuselah.’

    http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/inside.asp?ID=226&subjectID=3




51. - hisgirlfriday - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 4:49 pm:

    Thank you, Gov. Quinn and the Illinois legislature, for making this happen. It’s not often I get to be proud of Illinois government but I thank you all for recognizing government’s imperfections in this instance and having the political courage to make our government more merciful and more restrained in its power.




52. - Wensicia - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 4:55 pm:

    Quinn did the right thing for the right reasons. Perhaps he should as thoughtfully consider other decisions before he jumps in with a statement he later backs away from.




53. - Cheryl44 - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 4:56 pm:

    This is the email I got from Pat Quinn’s office.

    Today I have signed Senate Bill 3539, which abolishes the death penalty in Illinois.

    For me, this was a difficult decision, quite literally the choice between life and death. This was not a decision to be made lightly, or a decision that I came to without deep personal reflection.

    Since the General Assembly passed this bill, I have met or heard from a wide variety of people on both sides of the issue. I have talked with prosecutors, judges, elected officials, religious leaders from around the world, families of murder victims, people on death row who were exonerated and people like you who have taken the time to share their thoughts with me. Their experiences and your words and opinions have made a tremendous impact on my thinking, and I thank you for reaching out to me on this matter.

    After this guidance, as well as much thought and reflection, I have concluded that our system of imposing the death penalty is inherently flawed. The evidence presented to me by former prosecutors and judges with decades of experience in the criminal justice system has convinced me that it is impossible to devise a system that is consistent, that is free of discrimination on the basis of race, geography or economic circumstance, and that always gets it right.

    As a state, we cannot tolerate the executions of innocent people because such actions strike at the very legitimacy of a government. Since 1977, Illinois has seen 20 people exonerated from death row. Seven of those were exonerated since the moratorium was imposed in 2000. That is a record that should trouble us all. To say that this is unacceptable does not even begin to express the profound regret and shame we, as a society, must bear for these failures of justice.

    Since our experience has shown that there is no way to design a perfect death penalty system, free from the numerous flaws that can lead to wrongful convictions or discriminatory treatment, I have concluded that the proper course of action is to abolish it. With our broken system, we cannot ensure justice is achieved in every case. For the same reason, I have also decided to commute the sentences of those currently on death row to natural life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole or release.

    I have found no credible evidence that the death penalty has a deterrent effect on the crime of murder and that the enormous sums expended by the state in maintaining a death penalty system would be better spent on preventing crime and assisting victims’ families in overcoming their pain and grief.

    To those who say that we must maintain a death penalty for the sake of the victims’ families, I say that it is impossible not to feel the pain of loss that all these families share or to understand the desire for retribution that many may hold. But, as I heard from family members who lost loved ones to murder, maintaining a flawed death penalty system will not bring back their loved ones, will not help them to heal and will not bring closure to their pain. Nothing can do that. We must instead devote our resources toward the prevention of crime and the needs of victims’ families, rather than spending more money to preserve a flawed system.

    The late Cardinal Joseph Bernadin observed, “[i]n a complex, sophisticated democracy like ours, means other than the death penalty are available and can be used to protect society.” In our current criminal justice system, we can impose extremely harsh punishments when warranted. Judges can impose sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Where necessary and appropriate, the state can incarcerate convicted criminals in maximum security prisons. These means should be sufficient to satisfy our need for retribution, justice and protection.

    As Governor, I took an oath to uphold our state’s Constitution and faithfully execute our laws. Honoring that oath often requires making difficult decisions, but I have found none to be as difficult as the one I made today. I recognize that some may strongly disagree with this decision, but I firmly believe that we are taking an important step forward in our history as Illinois joins the 15 other states and many nations of the world that have abolished the death penalty.




54. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:02 pm:

    Dupage Dan, you’re the voice of reason, I’m happy to say. Good on you, cousin.




55. - Rudy - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:05 pm:

    After passing the Illinois bar, I applied for a job at the Cook County State’s Attorney. The person who interviewed me threw a piece of paper across the table at me. It had been xeroxed so many times it was dark, illegible and off-centered. It said something about “non-discrimination in hiring”. The interviewer told me casually: “we have to give this to all applicants, you know, no clout in hiring, everything’s on merit”.

    The interviewer asked me how I felt about the death penalty, “not that it matters, a rookie trial lawyer wouldn’t get assigned to a death penalty case.”

    I said I was opposed to to the death penalty. The response was:

    “Well, a few of the ASAs are opposed, but you’d find yourself in the minority here. Most of the ASAs here can’t wait to fry themselves some of them animals.”

    I didn’t get the job offer. The interviewer now sits on the Illinois Appellate Court. Thank goodness for Northwestern’s Center for Wrongful Convictions, and the good sense of the Illinois Legislature and Governor.




56. - question? - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:12 pm:

    Can some one who works in prisons explain to me about the harsh life these inmate will now live? Will they get to take school classes?
    will they get to have a TV? Can they have visits from the outside? can they paint? Can they work with weights? Can they have drugs?
    Do they get phone calls? Do they get medical treatment? Will they be a celebrity? TV, newspapers, books on their lifes? Will they be in a gang? Can they have cigarettes? Wonder if they kill a guard? Can they file complaints? Will they laugh at jokes? How is the food?

    Their victim(s) will not have any of these experiences.




57. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:25 pm:

    Question? what’s your opinion on the 18-20 innocents who were going to be executed? Silence? Cost of doing business?

    It’s astounding to me that you can have this emotional, bloodthirsty outcry from those who won’t deal with the reality of the broken system.

    Let the adults deal with this. Go home and get your shine box.




58. - Wensicia - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:30 pm:

    ==Their victim(s) will not have any of these experiences.==

    -question?- Will killing these criminals give the victims these experiences? And no killer is allowed to profit from his crimes. I don’t think the media will be lining up to give them publicity.




59. - sad - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:42 pm:

    An eye for an eye makes the world blind.




60. - question? - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:44 pm:

    Wordslinger

    My opinion is that we should say a prayer of thanks that they were released. The college students did outstanding work.

    Maybe you would agree that we could all say a prayer for the victims and their families… also.

    Wensicia

    To some killers it is not the money; it’s the fame.




61. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:46 pm:

    There’s a certain irony in criticizing this as flip-flopping or a lie that could have influenced the election. Do you have any doubt that Senator Brady was going to have to “flip-flop” after the election on the statements he made about solving the budget problems of Illinois without taxes, using only cuts. Or that his lack of candor made the election closer than it might have otherwise been?




62. - Fed up - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:48 pm:

    Dupage Dan,

    I can offer no guarantees that an innocent would not be put to death, nor can anyone. Do I worry about overzealous prosecutors yes the power of the state compared to the power of the defense is staggering. I can even live with the state assembly passing a law to revoke the death penalty (even though it was done cowardly in a lame duck session). What I find unsettling is Pat Quinn’s constent pattern of flip flopping to be kind or lying to be harsh. I respect the persons whos views are well known and stated. State Sen. Kwame Raoul and state Rep. Karen Yarbrough never felt it was neccasary to say anything but their true feelings that they were against the death penalty. Quinn has trouble with such honesty on issues. Quinn made time to talk with Martin Sheen about this issue but not the victims family’s. Abolishing the death penalty may well be the right thing to do, the state may need a 66% increase in taxes, maybe the U of I trustees didnt deserve to be fired, maybe accepting cash and endorsments from public employees unions in exchange for job guarantees is ok after all this is Illinois. Whatever you believe about those things Quinn has as much trouble with the truth as the two Gov’s before him.




63. - amalia - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:49 pm:

    only time will tell if those who have vocally opposed the death penalty care as much about those who died in the streets and homes and out in public in Illinois, the innocent victims. I am not aware of anyone put to death in Illinois prisons who was subsequently found innocent. That would, of course, be tragic.

    As for records of the evil ones in Illinois, here’s a few more names to research…..people who were on death row and who were taken off by the swipe of Gov. Ryan’s pen. Let’s start with Henry Brisbon, who not only killed two people on I 57 but killed a man in prison (yes, I weep for him too), and Fedell Caffey and Jacqueline Williams who slashed open Debra Evans to take her unborn child and killed her children Samantha and Joshua.
    Yes, evil is the word that applies.




64. - Wensicia - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:52 pm:

    ==To some killers it is not the money; it’s the fame.==

    The sick reasons the most heinous of murderers kill for have little to do with fame, except amongst a certain class of sociopaths. Even then, without attention, they would still kill.




65. - question? - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 5:57 pm:

    Wensicia

    I am saying once they are behind bars SOME killers enjoy the fame.
    See link below. This is a story on a book just released on a killer in the Illinois prison system.

    http://thesouthern.com/news/local/article_441af81e-47b1-11e0-86df-001cc4c002e0.html




66. - VanillaMan - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 6:32 pm:

    While there are valid reasons to support a death penalty, we have convicted too many innocent people to ignore the fact that it was by the grace of God that we had not carried out their death penalty sentences before discovering their innocence.

    Err on the side of life.

    Now, lets start erring on the side of life regarding innocent unborn human life.




67. - Wensicia - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 6:44 pm:

    I don’t think this article brings fame to this murderer. Rather, it references law enforcement’s efforts to find and track these killers, and with this knowledge stop future attacks.




68. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 6:52 pm:

    –only time will tell if those who have vocally opposed the death penalty care as much about those who died in the streets and homes and out in public in Illinois, the innocent victims.–

    Amalia, please. That’s not what it’s about.

    Until you have a perfect system, some scumbags who deserve to be cooked will rot and die in prison to ensure that an innocent won’t be executed.

    Don’t you dare tell me or anyone else that you “care” more, like it’s some “Oprah” show. It’s justice, and it ain’t perfect, and that’s why you can’t dish out the ultimate penalty.




69. - question? - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 6:54 pm:

    He has been out in the media promoting his book. The book is about one killer. It is sold at amazon and it does bring fame to the killer. The link is below.

    http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Pursuit-Timothy-Krajcir-Notorious/dp/0882823485/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299718144&sr=1-1




70. - question? - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 7:02 pm:

    Look.. I have no issues with someone writing a book. In fact, I will probably read this book. I was just pointing out that some killers in prison enjoy the attention.




71. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 7:20 pm:

    –civil unions, abolish death penalty, raise income tax, excise taxes and fees. If Quinn can only get a graduated income tax with very high top rates, he can die happy.–

    It’s a big country and a mobile society, pilgrim. Mississippi and Alabama are just down the road.




72. - Jasper - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 7:35 pm:

    Amalia has proven that there are profoundly evil people in the world.

    As if that was in doubt.

    Apparently he/she has some reason for pointing this out, but none is apparent.




73. - Atlanta Roofing - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 7:54 pm:

    Congrats Gov Quinn!
    The justice system now has become a front stage for lawyers and prosecutors. Who ever puts up a better argument wins. It has nothing to do anymore with the real facts of the case.
    Even if there is DNA doesn’t mean that the killer planned it and he’s just a wild murderer it can be a street fight where 1 ends up death in self defense and yes they have DNA but still proves nothing.
    Another thing I wanna see removed is the Victim s family member from the witness stand. Because the victim was nice or a graduate or the only child or whatever u hear from family members on the stand doesn’t add grounds to a guilty verdict.




74. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 9:26 pm:

    ===Quinn made time to talk with Martin Sheen about this issue but not the victims family’s===

    Not true. Read the stories above.




75. - LincolnLounger - Wednesday, Mar 9, 11 @ 9:41 pm:

    Someone with Pat Quinn’s breadth of experience faced exposure to extensive debate on issues of the death penalty a long time ago. He should have been well versed on the issue when he made his promise to Illinois voters that he would support it.

    Dismissing this as a “change of mind” when there clearly is a pattern of behavior is disappointing.

    This is troubling behavior. Quinn is a windsock, and apparently the only way to deal with him is to be the last person to talk to him on an issue.




76. - Steve Downstate - Thursday, Mar 10, 11 @ 12:28 am:

    The state Catholic bishops group supported this bill last fall. Now that Quinn has signed it (finally), I hope they come out and praise him for it just as strongly as they condemned him for signing the civil unions bill. Eliminating the DP is very much a pro-life issue. Life issues are supposed to be at the core of Catholic teaching and discourse.




77. - Secret Square - Thursday, Mar 10, 11 @ 1:34 am:

    True enough, Steve. Now perhaps we can turn our attention to protecting some truly innocent and defenseless souls like…er… the unborn, the elderly, and the handicapped?




78. - wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 10, 11 @ 3:48 pm:

    Atlanta Roofing, take your Ritalin, friendo.




79. - Atlanta Roofing - Friday, Mar 11, 11 @ 12:05 am:

    Then they’d better do things right if they are going to condemn people to death. Of course, real effort takes time and, far far worse, MONEY. It’s cheaper to send ‘em to the chair, needle, oven, whatever in some cases. Everything today is about doing things cheaper; not taking the time to do a good job or even admitting fault.

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