Illinois becomes 16th state to ban death penalty

[somerfrost]

Decision by Gov Quinn to sign legislation, becomes law July 1st. All 15 people on death row have their sentences commuted by Governor. Third state to ban death penalty in last two years behind New Mexico and New Jersey.

[Antitrust32]

that sucks

I think we should kill a lot of people. 1st degree murders & 1st degree sex criminals... If the DNA is there, off with your head.

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

that sucks

I think we should kill a lot of people. 1st degree murders & 1st degree sex criminals... If the DNA is there, off with your head.

A hot button issue of course...since Capital Punishment was reintroduced in the US in 1977, 15 people have been executed (none since 1999) in Illinois. During that time, 20 people have been released from prison as new evidence proved they were wrongly convicted. Two thirds of the nations on earth have banned the death penalty.

[Indian Charlie]

The only people the death penalty should be applicable for are politicians, the people who control politicians, and assholes like the ones that let the whole gulf oil spill happen.

Them, and maybe that Zen-yatt-ah chanter in that video from TVG.

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by somerfrost

A hot button issue of course...since Capital Punishment was reintroduced in the US in 1977, 15 people have been executed (none since 1999) in Illinois. During that time, 20 people have been released from prison as new evidence proved they were wrongly convicted. Two thirds of the nations on earth have banned the death penalty.

I put a lot of faith in DNA evidence. I dont think people should get executed for he said / she said evidence.

I DO think that people like OJ Simpson should be executed. and the appeal time and costs need to be lowered. a bullet should do the trick.

[Antitrust32]

honestly, cold blooded killers and people who rape kids dont deserve the use of oxygen.

[dellinger63]

But such feelings were not shared by Rachel Williams, who still has bullet fragments in her skull from the night in 1996 when Daniel Ramsey shot her in the head, killed her 12-year-old sister, raped and killed her best friend, and wounded two toddlers.

Williams was so determined to see her former boyfriend receive the death penalty that she relived the gruesome details of the shooting before a jury twice — the second time after the Illinois Supreme Court ordered a new trial. On Wednesday, Williams said she was reliving that night all over again, knowing that Ramsey's life would be spared while her sister's was not.

"Nobody knows what it's like to hear your sister say, 'Don't shoot me,'" said Williams, 32, of Peoria. "Why should he be able to sit there in prison until he turns over and dies? It's not fair."

But Roger Schnorr, whose sister, Donna, 27, of Geneva, was abducted, raped and murdered by Dugan in 1984, called Quinn's decision "quite aggravating." Schnorr said he met with Quinn for two hours a few weeks ago — along with prosecutors and other victims' relatives — and said the governor seemed "quite uninformed."

"There are 15 guys who are celebrating in prison today," Nicarico said. "And all of them took a life, at least one, and some took more than one. What Gov. Quinn did is he gave them their lives back."


Gov. Quinn owes every family suffering and now suffering more an apology. Maybe he can invite the group of 15 over to his house and feed and shelter them. IDIOT!!!!

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

honestly, cold blooded killers and people who rape kids dont deserve the use of oxygen.

The major problem is that - even today - people are sometimes wrongfully convicted of these crimes. There have been a lot of strange cases where new evidence emerges ten or more years down the road that exonerates a person who has been convicted. If you sentence a person to life in prison, and then some case takes an odd twist at some future date, the person might still have a chance to enjoy some part of their remaining life. Once they're executed, however, its obviously too late.

Originally Posted by somerfrost

Decision by Gov Quinn to sign legislation, becomes law July 1st. All 15 people on death row have their sentences commuted by Governor. Third state to ban death penalty in last two years behind New Mexico and New Jersey.

Excellent decision. If the rich can't die for their crimes, which imo are far worse, then the poor shouldn't die for theirs.

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

Excellent decision. If the rich can't die for their crimes, which imo are far worse, then the poor shouldn't die for theirs.

Another interesting question....who is the bigger monster, a person who makes a decision which he/she is aware will result in suffering, perhaps death for many, or the street thug who savages one? The way a society deals with one compared to the other says much.