The Illinois State Senate could vote on the measure, SB 3539, on Monday.
The AP report is, "Illinois House votes to abolish death penalty," via the Washington Post.
The Illinois House has approved a plan to abolish capital punishment in a whirlwind reversal on a historic vote.
The legislation to halt state-sponsored execution gained the necessary 60 votes Thursday after an earlier vote fell short.
The landmark action comes nearly 11 years after then-Gov. George Ryan cleared death row and declared a moratorium on capital punishment in Illinois.
The legislation now moves to the Senate, where President John Cullerton says he supports the proposal and hopes it passes. But the Chicago Democrat says he won't push his members to back it, calling the vote a personal decision.
"Illinois House votes to abolish death penalty," is the title of the Chicago Tribune report written by Ray Long and Todd Wilson.
The capital punishment ban still has some hurdles to clear. But the vote represented a growing recognition that DNA and improved technology in criminal science have exposed an uncertainty in verdicts that cannot be reversed once a death sentence is carried out.
"You can release an innocent person from prison, but you can't release them from the grave," said Gordon "Randy" Steidl, who spent 17 years in prison, including 12 on death row, after he was wrongfully convicted of a 1986 double-murder.
The partial victory for death-penalty opponents did not come easily. The proposal fell one vote short of passing the first time, but got the extra vote needed a short time later.
Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Maywood, said she thought she had the votes to pass the plan on the first go-round, but that some "didn't find their way."
During the second vote, several lawmakers either switched positions or failed to vote. But in the end, supporters collected the 60 votes they needed to pass the House. Fifty-four House members voted against it.
Opponents argued that the death penalty should remain in place as the ultimate punishment for the most heinous crimes. They pointed to a recent spate of murders of Chicago police officers, saying cop killers should not be let off with life in prison.
And:
The measure now goes to the Illinois Senate, where President John Cullerton is personally opposed to the death penalty, but the chamber's overall support for the legislation still may be a few votes short. But backers hoped the House's dramatic action would generate additional votes in the Senate.
Fifteen people currently are on death row in Illinois.
Thirty-five states now have the death penalty, and Illinois would become the 16th state not to lawmakers approved abolishing it. Three states — New York, New Jersey and New Mexico — have eliminated the death penalty in recent years, said Ryan Keith, a spokesman for the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
"Illinois House votes to end death penalty," by Kevin McDermott in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The bill now moves to the Senate, which appears to have the votes to pass it on to Gov. Pat Quinn. Quinn hasn't said if he will sign it — but he has kept in place the state's death penalty freeze.
Proponents say they have momentum, but they are fighting the clock. If they don't get final passage before the new Legislature is seated Wednesday, they will have to start from scratch under a new, more conservative assembly. The Senate can't consider the bill until it reconvenes Monday.
The measure passed the House with the bare-minimum 60 "yes'' votes needed. It took two attempts at the vote, and followed an emotional floor debate in which opponents laid out chilling details of murders committed by the state's current 15 death row inmates, and supporters invoked the Ten Commandments.
"House votes to repeal Illinois death penalty," by Chris Wetterich for the State Journal-Register of Springfield.
The bill passed on a 60-54 vote; it needed 60 to pass. The legislation now goes to the Illinois Senate, where it must pass before heading to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk. Quinn has said he favors the death penalty for the worst crimes.
It took two separate votes for the measure to clear the House Thursday. The legislation failed by a single vote in the afternoon, but its sponsor, Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Maywood, used a parliamentary maneuver to allow another vote.
Randy Steidl, one of 20 exonerated death row inmates, praised the House’s actions and said he believes Quinn will change his mind.
“It’s a long time coming,” Steidl said in an interview. “Illinois has an opportunity to put this barbaric system behind us that’s put 20 innocent people on death row.
“It guarantees no innocent people will end up on Illinois’ death row again.”
Wetterich is also the author of, "Illinois House votes to abolish death penalty," for GateHouse News Service. It's via the Peoria Journal Star.
Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Pecatonica, a former FBI agent, said law enforcement often uses the death penalty as a tool to induce cooperation from criminals.
Sacia told the story of Joseph Didier, a 15-year-old boy who was murdered by Robert Lower, a man known for committing sexual abuse.
"There's no doubt who committed the crime. He (Lower) admitted the crime.
"The only way law enforcement was able to get that person to tell us where (the boy) was, was to convince him he would not face the death penalty if he would talk," Sacia said. "And he talked and he told us where to find the boy."
Rep. Monique Davis, D-Chicago, suggested that there are worse punishments than death, invoking the case of Ryan, who is serving time at a federal prison in Indiana after being convicted of corruption. His wife, Lura Lynn, was admitted to the intensive care unit of a Kanakee hospital this week. Ryan's lawyers were trying Thursday to get him out of jail, at least temporarily, so he can be with his wife.
"There can be a worse punishment than the death penalty," Davis said. "Being kept from a loved one who's dying as you sit in a federal prison might appear to be a punishment greater than the death penalty."
"On 2nd try, House votes to abolish death penalty," by Kiera Manion-Fischer for the Bloomington Pantagraph.
The Illinois House narrowly approved a proposal to abolish the death penalty Thursday after the measure fell one vote short on a preliminary vote.
The final vote was 60-54 on the legislation that has yet to be considered by the Senate. At least 60 votes were needed for the bill to be approved in the House.
State Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, originally voted “no” on the proposal and then changed his vote for the final vote.
“I’d been back and forth on this since they started talking about abolishing it,” Verschoore said. State Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Maywood, the proposal’s sponsor, asked him to reconsider his vote, he said.
“She’s helped me on some legislation I’ve had through the years, and so I said I’d give her the vote,” Verschoore said.
Debate on the House floor focused on bringing closure to murder victims’ families versus Illinois’ history of death row inmates later exonerated.
“There is no better reason to end the death penalty now than innocence,” Yarbrough said. “We put 20 men on the death row who shouldn’t have even been there. That’s 20 lives ruined when one is too many.”
Since capital punishment was reinstated more than 30 years ago, Illinois has put 12 people to death but 20 have been declared wrongly condemned and released from death row.
"House passes death penalty repeal; Senate vote likely Monday," by Tom Kacich in the Champaign Urbana News-Gazette.
By the bare minimum Thursday night, Illinois lawmakers voted 60-54 to abolish the death penalty.
The vote came about two hours after an earlier effort had failed by one vote. But two retiring lawmakers, Republican Bob Biggins of Elmhurst and Democrat Mike Smith of Canton, changed their votes from no to yes, while Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Crete, switched from yes to not voting.
"I don't think I was the convincing factor by any means," said Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, the Senate sponsor of the bill, who talked to both Biggins and Smith between votes. "I'd love to take credit and say I have these great persuasive abilities, but I don't think that's the case. A lot of people were conflicted, even people who voted no on the bill. It was a very difficult bill. It's not an easy issue.'
Raoul said he believes Gov. Pat Quinn will sign the measure. But first it must make it through the Senate, which will take up the bill (SB 3539) when it returns to Springfield on Monday.
Sen. Mike Frerichs, D-Champaign, said he would vote for the repeal. "In the past I have expressed opposition to the death penalty," he said. "In all of my campaigns I have told people that I'd vote that way."
"Only the governor knows what he's going to do, but I got a strong signal that the governor would follow the will of the General Assembly on this and take Illinois away from being in company with some of the worst human rights-violating countries in the world," he said.
The debate over the death penalty was compelling, with dramatic speeches from members on both sides.
For those who want to delve deeper, there is Rich Miller's post "How the death penalty abolition bill passed on the second try," for the Capitol Fax Report.
As you know by now, the House passed a death penalty abolition bill on the second try yesterday. Democratic state Rep. Pat Verschoore voted against the bill the first time, then changed his vote after the bill’s sponsor appealed to him…
“I’d been back and forth on this since they started talking about abolishing it,” Verschoore said. State Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Maywood, the proposal’s sponsor, asked him to reconsider his vote, he said.
“She’s helped me on some legislation I’ve had through the years, and so I said I’d give her the vote,” Verschoore said.
Verschoore added…
“I was on both sides of this issue. But then you think of the potential cost savings of this bill, and the state needs all of the savings we can get,” Verschoore said. “Besides, my wife was on me to vote for it.”
You just never know what’ll move a member sometimes. But a spouse with strong views on an issue can be a powerful force.
* And Verschoore wasn’t the only one…
During the second vote, several lawmakers either switched positions or failed to vote. But in the end, supporters collected the 60 votes they needed to pass the House. Fifty-four House members voted against it.
More…
But two retiring lawmakers, Republican Bob Biggins of Elmhurst and Democrat Mike Smith of Canton, changed their votes from no to yes, while Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Crete, switched from yes to not voting.
“I don’t think I was the convincing factor by any means,” said Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, the Senate sponsor of the bill, who talked to both Biggins and Smith between votes. “I’d love to take credit and say I have these great persuasive abilities, but I don’t think that’s the case. A lot of people were conflicted, even people who voted no on the bill. It was a very difficult bill. It’s not an easy issue.’
And:
The bill now moves to the Senate, where its sponsor is predicting an easier time of it. Senate President Cullerton also supports the bill…
Senate President John Cullerton said Thursday night he supports the proposal and hopes it passes. But the Chicago Democrat stopped short of saying he would ask his members to back it.
“That’s a real personal decision,” Cullerton said of voting on abolition. “People vote their conscience on something like that and I’ll let them decide how to do that.”
Earlier coverage from Illinois begins at the link.
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