In April, Representative Coy Pugh of the House Human Services Committee introduced Illinois House Resolution 121. It calls for the establishment of a Commission on the Death Penalty to investigate flaws and impediments to justice in Illinois’ administration of the death penalty. It also urges Governor Jim Edgar to execute his constitutional authority to institute an immediate halt to executions until the Committee can issue a report.

Why is HR 121 Necessary?

• It examines the flaws in Illinois’ administration of the death penalty – flaws which led to nine innocent men being sentenced to death. These nine men, who were released from Illinois’ Death Row either after being acquitted during a new trial or having charges against them dropped by the prosecutor, spent a total of more than 60 years on Death Row. Ironically, since the reinstatement of the death penalty, the documented mistakes in Illinois capital cases outnumber the executions that have been carried out – eight to date.
• Illinois has the alarming distinction of leading the nation in mistakes in capital cases. Seven of the nine Illinois cases were discovered during the last four years. Of the thirty-seven states that have capital punishment, no other state has accounted for more than two cases (twenty-one documented nationwide).
• Illinois Death Row has the highest percentage (65%) of minority inmates in the United States. According to HR 121, statistical evidence demonstrates that racial bias continues to have an impact on which defendants ultimately receive a sentence of death. It also states that income and resources of the defendant plays a significant role in the death sentencing process, as evidenced by the disproportionate number of poor and low-income persons on death row.

• HR 121 calls for the establishment of an independent, non-partisan commission on the death penalty to study all aspects of the death penalty as currently administered in Illinois
• It calls for the Commission on the Death Penalty to hold public hearings and invite witnesses to testify on issues relevant to the administration of the death penalty.
• It calls on the Illinois House of Representatives to urge Governor Edgar to exercise his authority to grant temporary reprieves and suspend further executions in the State of Illinois until the Commission has issued its findings and recommendations.
• HR 121 also asks the Illinois Supreme Court to refrain from setting any execution dates until the Commission has issued its findings and recommendations and until necessary reforms in the administration of the death penalty are implemented.

• It does not call for an end to the death penalty. It does examine how racism, poverty and corruption have lead to the condemnation of innocent people.
• It does not make moral assumptions regarding the death penalty. It does seek to ensure a justice system which is impartial and uncorrupted.
• It does not seek to repeal Illinois’ death penalty laws.

As of August 1, 25 Religious Leaders of the Illinois Conference of Churches and over 400 local pastors have endorsed the call for a “temporary moratorium” on the use of the death penalty in Illinois.

On July 15, the Executive Committee of the General Board of the Illinois conference of Churches voted unanimously to support an amicus brief filed with the Illinois Supreme Court. It calls for the Court to establish a commission to investigate the problems which have resulted in innocent people being sentenced to death, and to halt scheduling of executions until the Commission’s report is issued.

Thousands of Illinois residents also have signed petitions expressing their support for HR 121.

You Can Help....Please write or call your Illinois State Senator and your State Representative and ask them to support HR 121. .....Plan to attend the Illinois Death Penalty Moratorium Rally in Chicago on September 6 or in Springfield on September 13.

If you would like more information on the rallies, or background information on the nine men released from death row, please contact Associate Director Nancy Tegtmeier at the ICC, (217) 544-3423.

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