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* UPDATED 2x - HOUSE PASSES REPEAL ON SECOND VOTE * Death penalty repeal fails by one vote

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Illinois

Posted by Barton Lorimor

4:53 p.m. Efforts to repeal Illinois’ death penalty failed in the House by one vote. The issue has been placed on postponed consideration.

Pro-repeal lobbyists said immediately after the vote that Rep. Patrick Verschoore was supposed to vote in favor of the measure. Rep. Rosemary Mulligan was the only representative not to cast a vote. She is reportedly out of town due to an illness. [Adding: Rep. Mulligan denies proponents’ claims that she would’ve voted Yes.]

Video of the vote board…

6:23 p.m. The House has taken another vote on this bill and is going through a verification. Roll call shows it has the 60 it needs to advance.

6:25 p.m.The death penalty repeal has passed the House 60-54-0. Verification confirmed the roll call.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 4:55 pm

Comments

What a difference a lame-duck session makes. At least some heavy stuff gets talked about.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 5:13 pm
Damn that is disappointing. Thanks for the video. Helps to visualize the vote.

Comment by Aaron Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 5:14 pm
Pity.

Comment by phocion Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 5:29 pm
Been gone for several hours and got back in time to hear the Medical Mary Jane Bill go up in smoke again.

Can somebody tell me has the Senat adjourned until next week?

Comment by Quinn T. Sential Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 5:39 pm
as one Representative, a former FBI agent said, the possibility of a death sentence is a good way to get a suspect to confess. and if you don’t have it, you can’t use it. Would you really want John Wayne Gacy still sitting in prison painting?

Comment by amalia Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 5:58 pm
@Quinn T. Sential, the Senate has committees posted for 5:30 this evening. I expect they’d come back to the floor afterwards.

Comment by Janice Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 6:05 pm
What a shame, hope it gets done next time.

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 6:07 pm
–as one Representative, a former FBI agent said, the possibility of a death sentence is a good way to get a suspect to confess.–

That doesn’t make any sense, as written. A suspect would confess to a capital crime because he has a death wish?

I didn’t hold any candles for Gacy, but I would have been content to have him rot in prison rather than risk Dugan getting executed before citizens — not the elected, sworn justice officials — could clear him.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 6:08 pm
@ Janice,

Thank you. I will stick around to see what happens; if anything. Any sight of any pizza trucks around?

Comment by Quinn T. Sential Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 6:08 pm
Would you really want John Wayne Gacy still sitting in prison painting?

It wouldn’t make a lick of difference in either of our lives.

– MrJM

Comment by MrJM Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 6:10 pm
Amalia, That is how you scare people into confessions, but that does not mean they did the crime. Here’s one of many examples worth looking at:http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-confessions/?utm_campaign=viewpage&utm_medium=grid&utm_source=grid

Anyway, this is a very senstive topic in Illinois because we have a high rate of forced confessions. In fact, the highest.

Comment by tired of press Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 6:14 pm
Amalia, That is how you scare people into confessions, but that does not mean they did the crime. Here’s one of many examples worth looking at:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-confessions/?utm_campaign=viewpage&utm_medium=grid&utm_source=grid

Anyway, this is a very sensitive topic in Illinois because we have a high rate of forced confessions. In fact, the highest.

Comment by tired of press Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 6:15 pm
Wow… Do they (State Reps) no the pain of ALS? To deny someone the relief of pain is just… wrong.

Comment by The Truth Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 6:22 pm
“The possibility of a death sentence is a good way to get a suspect to confess”

In the cases Rep. Sacia cited, the suspects confessed because they were promised that they would NOT receive the death penalty if they did.

Comment by Bookworm Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 6:25 pm
Wow… do the they know the pain of ALS. To deny someone the use of medical marijuana is wrong…. Sorry, I posted this on the wrong thread.

Comment by The Truth Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 6:27 pm
Re: 6:25 p.m. update

Awesome.

– MrJM

Comment by MrJM Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 6:49 pm
Special thanks to Representatives Smith and Biggins for their courageous second vote. I hope the betrayal of the promises they publicly made to opponents allow them to secure the employment they are each pursuing now that their tenure in the General Assembly is coming to an end.

Comment by gfalkes Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 7:02 pm
–In the cases Rep. Sacia cited, the suspects confessed because they were promised that they would NOT receive the death penalty if they did.–

That statement at least makes sense. Of course, in reality, a prosecutor could only promise they would not seek the death penalty.

I covered cops and courts for 10 years, and admire greatly the vast majority of cops and prosecutors and appreciate their work in the most brutal of jobs. Rep. Sacia’s story shouldn’t be considered SOP, but I know it happens.

It’s disturbing that the state would use that discretion in order to avoid the cost and time of a trial, or worse, bluff some dummy with inadequate counsel who they didn’t really have the goods on.

Just last year, the murderer of Riley Fox was convicted down in Will County based on DNA evidence. Previously, her none-too-bright father had been harangued into confessing to the crime after hours of interrogation without counsel, was convicted in open court and was on Death Row for a crime he literally could not have committed.

The system can be abused and it can fail. That’s the only reason I’m against the death penalty.

Either way, Rep. Sacia does not make a very good argument for keeping the death penalty. I believe the idea was that it was supposed to be the ultimate punishment for the most heinous crimes, not a tool to make prosecutors’ jobs easier.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 7:31 pm
I am a big fan of this “lame duck” session…has change in the legislature as brought somewhat of a conscience to this bunch of duly elected reps?…Who would have thunk it? Thanks to all who voted to repeal this…onto the Senate…

Comment by Loop Lady Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 7:48 pm
I was particularly repelled by opponents’ trotting-out their own favorite list of the most “heinous” crimes, urging that the gravest of public policies be made on the basis of an appeal to members’ basest instincts. All, especially Rep. Sacia, omitted one obvious and salient fact: the existence of the death penalty deterred none of these “heinous” crimes.

Comment by david starrett Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 7:59 pm
please spend some time reading case files on murders. finding out about the victims. some cases cry out for the penalty. actually, I really hope you never have to read any of these case files. the horror that exists on the streets is haunting. the evil should die.

Comment by amalia Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 9:16 pm
Amailia, everybody gets it. You don’t have any special insight into the horrors of murder.

The problem here in Illinois is that you had 13 people on Death Row — arrested, tried, convicted, sentenced and all queued up for the ultimate penalty — who were cut loose because either DNA evidence cleared them or because official misconduct was revealed.

We also had Commander Burge using his special techniques in extracting murder “confessions.”

How do you guarantee, in this state, against the evil of the state executing people for crimes they didn’t commit?

http://www.truthinjustice.org/dphistory-IL.htm

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 9:50 pm
I find it interesting that the same side of the aisle that says state government can’t do anything right is so sure that same state government should be killing people.

Comment by piling on Thursday, Jan 6, 11 @ 10:51 pm