Mitchell and Brady call for lifting of death penalty moratorium    

[DEC. 13, 2003]  SPRINGFIELD -- Following the recent enactment of a comprehensive new law reforming Illinois' criminal justice system, state Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, and state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, are calling on the governor to lift the state's moratorium on the death penalty.

"I represent the people of Clinton, who are mourning the tragic murder of three young children. At the present time, if those accused of this monstrous crime are found to be guilty, the most severe punishment they could receive is life in prison. Many will agree that punishment does not fit the crime," said Mitchell.

"The moratorium has been in place here in Illinois for nearly four years. During that time, there has been a tremendous amount of study done on the issue, and countless hours of hard work and debate have gone into developing policies to correct a flawed system," he said. "The reforms enacted will ensure that no innocent person is put to death. Now is time for us to look ahead and lift the death penalty moratorium in Illinois so that perpetrators of heinous murder crimes will pay for the pain they have caused."

Former Gov. George Ryan imposed the moratorium after a number of individuals on death row were found to be innocent of the crimes for which they had been convicted. He established a commission to study the issue and to make recommendations to the Illinois General Assembly.

The bill enacted into law includes many of their recommendations, such as:

--Greatly reducing the number of eligibility factors for the death penalty.

--Mandatory videotaping of the police interrogation process for murder suspects.

--Establishing new procedures for state's attorneys in death penalty cases and mandatory training for judges.

--Ensuring a jury or court will take a defendant's reduced mental capacity or history of mental or physical abuse into consideration in the sentencing deliberations.

--Allowing post-conviction appeals at any time if new evidence proving innocence comes to light.

--Increasing funding for expanded DNA technology.

"We have taken the time to put the interest of the accused at the forefront of discussion and have made significant improvements to our criminal justice system. Today, we are asking that we now turn our attention to the interest of the victims of violent crime to ensure that justice prevails," Brady concluded.

[News release]