An Illinois House committee voted to abolish the death...

An Illinois House committee voted to abolish the death penalty, raising the stakes in the long debate over how to respond to flaws in the state's capital punishment system.
A judiciary committee approved the abolition bill 8-4, sending it to the floor for a vote by the full House.
The vote followed dramatic testimony from men who were sentenced to die for crimes they said they did not commit. Aaron Patterson described being given electric shocks and suffocated by Chicago police until he signed a false confession.
Three years earlier, Ryan had halted executions in Illinois after 13 men on Illinois' death row were found to have been wrongly convicted. Before leaving office, the Republican governor granted clemency to everyone facing executions, clearing death row.
But lawmakers have not acted yet on the sweeping changes to the death penalty system that Ryan recommended.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he supports the death penalty, raising the possibility of a veto if the bill ever reaches him.