| March 1, 2005
The Illinois Coalition to
Abolish the Death Penalty
Committed to human dignity
and the abolition of the death penalty
February 2005 E-newsletter
The Coalition has released
its 2004 report on the current workings of the Illinois
capital punishment system. The report, “Capital Punishment
in Illinois: A Crisis Unresolved” is available online
at www.icadp.org. Highlights of the report include:
-
Public opinion continues to move
away from the death penalty:
- More of the public favors life in prison
without the possibility of parole as an alternative
to the death penalty than in prior polling;
- Efforts to lift the moratorium on executions
have failed to win public support in Illinois.
-
Capital prosecutions continue,
but death sentences are rare:
- Only four death sentences were returned
by judges and juries in 2004, continuing a
downward trend.
- Two of the death sentences involved defendants
with serious mental impairment and two cases
left lingering doubts about the defendant’s
guilt.
- At least two dozen Cook County and seven
statewide capital cases were resolved without
a death sentence.
- Cook County prosecutors are seeking the
death penalty in at least 165 pending cases.
- Seventy-five percent of defendants are African-American,
fifteen percent are Latino, and ten percent
Caucasian. Over twenty-five percent were age
twenty-one or younger at the time of their
arrest. Another thirty defendants also face
the death penalty in seventeen suburban and
downstate counties.
-
Capital trials continue to exhibit
serious flaws:
- Two Cook County capital trials involved
allegations that prosecutors withheld crucial
evidence from the defense.
- A Cook County forensic psychologist was
accused of altering answers to an IQ test
so the defendant would be found eligible for
the death penalty. He later resigned.
- In at least seven capital trials in 2004,
prosecutors sought the death penalty in cases
so weak that the defendants were ultimately
acquitted or had charges against them dropped.
- Prosecutors in capital trials used the testimony
of paid informants.
- Prosecutors sought the death penalty in
many cases where the defendant suffered from
serious mental illness.
-
An eighteenth former Death Row
inmate was exonerated in 2004, while others continued
their fight to reverse past injustices:
- The flawed murder case against Gordon “Randy”
Steidl of Edgar County was finally dropped
after 17 years’ imprisonment, seven of those
on Death Row.
- Former Police Cmdr. Jon Burge was forced
to return to Chicago to respond to lawsuits
by freed Death Row inmates alleging torture.
He refused to answer all questions.
- Two more former Death Row inmates won new
trials in 2004, while at least five others
pressed cases based on claims of actual innocence.
-
The death penalty process continues
to drain scarce crime-fighting resources:
- In 2004 the death penalty system took millions
of dollars to maintain, including $1.8 Million
spent on a single case.
- These expenses take away resources from
programs vital to crime prevention and control,
including schools, mental health and drug
treatment.
-
Reform efforts stalled in 2004:
- The Committee enacted by the reform legislation
failed to issue the first of its yearly reports
on the impact of reforms on the capital punishment
process;
- The General Assembly failed to pass a single
new reform suggested by the Governor’s Commission
on capital punishment, including crucial reforms
to reduce arbitrariness in the system.
Death Penalty News:
Alert: The State of Indiana is scheduled
to execute Donald Wallace, Jr. just after midnight
on the morning of March 10, 2005. A vigil sponsored
by the Udumbara Zen Center and the Buddhist Peace
Fellowship will be held at the Indiana State Prison
in Michigan City during the execution. If you would
like to participate in the vigil, please arrive at
the prison by 10:30-11:00 p.m. on the night of March
9th. The vigil will be held in the parking lot directly
across from the prison. Directions to the prison from
the Indiana Department of Correction website: From
the intersection of US 421 and US 20 go west on US
20; turn north on Hitchcock Road. Travel Hitchcock
for about 1 v miles. The Indiana State Prison will
be located on the left. For further information on
the vigil, please contact the Coalition at (312)-849-2279.
The Coalition continues
to monitor death penalty cases throughout the state.
No death sentences were handed out in the past month,
meaning that none have been given out in 2005. The
Capital Punishment Reform Study Committee met for
the first time on February 14, 2005. The Committee
is charged with reviewing the impact of death penalty
reforms on the workings of the capital punishment
system. It must report to the legislature on a yearly
basis and issue its final report in 2008. Public hearings
have yet to be scheduled. ICADP Board member Jennifer
Bishop-Jenkins, along with many other murder Victims’
family members, has helped to launch a new organization,
Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights (MVFHR).
The group was founded at the United Nations on December
10, 2004, International Human Rights Day. ICADP looks
forward to working with MVFHR to abolish the death
penalty.
Upcoming Events Around Illinois
The following is a listing
up upcoming anti-death penalty events of interest
around the state. We list events from many different
organizations working against the death penalty. Listing
on this calendar does not necessarily imply the endorsement
of ICADP. If you have an event to share with Illinois
abolitionists, please e-mail us at info@icadp.org.
March 1: Magis Speaking Circles will meet at 4 p.m.
March 1 at Loyola University's Bremner Lounge. Magis
Scholars have opened their Speaking Circle to the
entire university to hold discussion groups on Sister
Prejean's book Dead Man Walking. Location: 1125 Loyola
Ave, Chicago, IL.
March 2 at 3 p.m.: Special premiere
of “Countdown to an Execution,” an A&E documentary
about the Indiana capital case of Darnell Williams.
The event will be in Thorne Auditorium at the Northwestern
University School of Law, 375 E. Chicago Ave. in Chicago.
After the film, former Indiana Governor Joe Kernan,
first to commute an Indiana death sentence in 46 years,
will offer his perspective on the case and capital
punishment generally. Then there will be a panel discussion,
featuring, among others, Juliet Yackel, William’s
longtime lawyer; Thomas Vanes, the lead prosecutor
in the case; and Center students and staff involved
in the case. For more information, contact Edwin Colfax
at 312-503-3604.
March 9: The State of Indiana is
scheduled to execute Donald Wallace, Jr. early in
the morning of March 10, 2005. A vigil sponsored by
the Udumbara Zen Center and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship
will be held at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan
City during the execution. If you would like to participate
in the vigil, please arrive at the prison by 10:30-11:00
p.m. on the evening of March 9th. The vigil will be
held in the parking lot directly across from the prison.
For further information, please contact the Coalition
at (312) 849-2279.
March 11: Opening night reception
for a gallery showing of the work of Indiana death
row inmate Zolo Azania and Illinois former death row
inmate Renaldo Hudson. The showing is at the Las Manos
Gallery, 5220 N. Clark Street in Chicago. For more
information, call the Coalition at (312)849-2279.
March 14 and 16: Loyola University
presents "Barred for Life", David J. Popalisky's original
dance/performance work illuminating the human experience
of the wrongfully convicted, including ICADP Board
member Delbert Tibbs. Performances will take place
at the Kathleen Mullady Theatre. For more information,
call (773) 508-3847.
March 26: Death Penalty abolition
training day. See the film Too Flawed to Fix: The
Illinois Death Penalty Experience and learn more about
the movement to abolish the death penalty. Las Manos
Gallery, 5220 N. Clark Street in Chicago. Held in
conjunction with the showing of art work by Zolo Azania
and Renaldo Hudson. For more information or to register
call ICADP at (312) 849-2279.
April 12: A Dead Man Walking Vigil
will be held at Loyola University's Madonna Della
Strada Chapel. Time to be announced. University Ministry
will sponsor a vigil to remember victims of the death
penalty and raise awareness for issues surrounding
it.
April 13: ICADP Executive Director
Jane Bohman and exonerated death row inmate Gary Gauger
will speak at Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self-Defense
Center as a part of their Facing Conflict/Making Peace:
Meditations on Activism series. For more information,
please call (773) 472-7663 or check the website: www.thousandwaves.org
October 27-30: The National Coalition
to Abolish the Death Penalty - Annual Conference in
Austin, Texas. Visit the www.ncadp.org for information
as it becomes available
DONATE TO ICADP! Help the Coalition’s efforts to abolish
the death penalty by making a tax-deductible donation
to:
The Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
180 N. Michigan, Suite 2300
Chicago, IL 60601-7401
A membership form is available
online at www.icadp.org. The Coalition welcomes volunteers.
Please call the office at (312) 849-2279 to learn
more about the many available volunteer opportunities.
We need your talents!
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this newsletter, send an e-mail to info@icadp.org
with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
-------------------------------------------------
The Illinois Coalition Against the Death
Penalty
180 N. Michigan, Suite 2300
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 849-2279
Fax: (312) 201-9760
website: www.icadp.org
e-mail: info@icadp |
