Illinois Abolishes Death Penalty Essay

Illinois Abolishes the Death Penalty
On March 9th, 2011 Illinois became the 16th state to abolish the death penalty. After signing the bill, Governor Pat Quinn stated, “This was the most difficult decision I have made as governor.” (Horng, 2011)   Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan appealed directly to Quinn to veto the bill.   Madison County Prosecutor Tom Gibbons said abolishing the death penalty "…is an impediment to me doing my job. I'm not happy about it. It's a punishment for the worst of the worst crimes”.   Quinn "realized that it's a righteous and a moral decision to end this system that almost took my life," said Gordon "Randy" Steidl, who spent 12 years on death row after being wrongly convicted in the 1986 murder of two newlyweds. ((AP), 2011)   Clearly there are several very vocal parties involved in the death penalty debate, but in reality the only ones that matter are the citizens of the State of Illinois and those who work in law enforcement and criminal justice.   Any justice system is a balancing act, weighing the rights of the accused against justice for the victim and the victim’s families. The questions that need to be answered are: Does the abolishment of the death penalty in Illinois maintain this balance?   Is the death penalty an effective deterrent to capital crime? Can the death penalty be administered in a fair and accurate manner?   Does abolishing the death penalty still allow for justice for the victim’s families?   To help understand how Illinois reached this point on the death penalty issue it will be beneficial to examine some of the arguments on both sides of this very emotional debate.
When Gov. Quinn signed the bill abolishing the death penalty he told the press, “It is impossible to create a perfect system, free of all mistakes… free of all discrimination with respect to race, economic circumstances or geography.” (Hawkins, 2011) This is the basis of one of the more vocal arguments used by death penalty opponents.   It is argued...