Illinois lawmakers overrode the governor's veto and...
Illinois lawmakers overrode the governor's veto and voted unanimously to make terrorism a death penalty offence in the state
1 MIN READ
Illinois lawmakers overrode the governor's veto and voted unanimously to make terrorism a death penalty offence in the state.
The bill, passed 55-0 by the Senate, also gave law enforcement new tools to fight terrorism. The House previously overrode Gov. George Ryan's veto; with the Senate vote, the bill became law.
Ryan had objected to the bill because it expanded the death penalty before lawmakers could consider overhauling the state's capital punishment system.
Using his veto power, Ryan revised the bill to require a meticulous court review of each death penalty case, bar executions of the retarded and videotape murder interrogations.
But lawmakers of both parties decided that death-penalty reforms should be debated separately.
The new crime-fighting powers contained in the bill include more power to obtain search warrants and bug telephones to investigate suspected terrorists. The law also makes it a felony to take a gun on an airplane and lets the attorney general freeze terrorists' assets.
Republican Sen. Peter Roskam, the bill's sponsor, said the law sends a clear message about the consequences of terrorism.
"This is a situation where you want no ambiguity, where you want all bases covered," he said.
The bill, passed 55-0 by the Senate, also gave law enforcement new tools to fight terrorism. The House previously overrode Gov. George Ryan's veto; with the Senate vote, the bill became law.
Ryan had objected to the bill because it expanded the death penalty before lawmakers could consider overhauling the state's capital punishment system.
Using his veto power, Ryan revised the bill to require a meticulous court review of each death penalty case, bar executions of the retarded and videotape murder interrogations.
But lawmakers of both parties decided that death-penalty reforms should be debated separately.
The new crime-fighting powers contained in the bill include more power to obtain search warrants and bug telephones to investigate suspected terrorists. The law also makes it a felony to take a gun on an airplane and lets the attorney general freeze terrorists' assets.
Republican Sen. Peter Roskam, the bill's sponsor, said the law sends a clear message about the consequences of terrorism.
"This is a situation where you want no ambiguity, where you want all bases covered," he said.
— SOURCES
- (Sources: AP, Yahoo News website, 05/12/2002)
KEEP READING
ALL THE NEWS · DEATH PENALTY On the same front

DEATH PENALTYAUGUST 31, 2026
Pakistan: ASI sentenced to death for killing two brothers in Swabi

DEATH PENALTYAUGUST 31, 2026
Bangladesh: HC confirms death sentence of lone accused for rape, murder of 8-year-old Asiya

DEATH PENALTYAUGUST 30, 2026
Pakistan: Man sentenced to death, brother gets life term for double murder in 2021

DEATH PENALTYAUGUST 23, 2026
Eastern Libya executes 10 convicted on terrorism charges

DEATH PENALTYAUGUST 21, 2026
Japan: man executed over killing 5 people

DEATH PENALTYAUGUST 15, 2026
