USA - Illinois. The Senate today approved SB3539 to end the death penalty

The Democratic-led Senate today approved SB3539  to end the death penalty and re-allocate funds remaining in the Capital Litigation Trust Fund to a fund for murder victims' services and law enforcement by a vote of 35-22, with two senators voting present. The House approved the measure on Jan. 6 (see). The bill must be signed by Governor Pat Quinn (Democratic, 62, white)  in order to become law. Many murder victims’ families were among the strongest supporters of the repeal bill.  In a letter to the Illinois General Assembly, murder victims‘ families and friends said, "A legal system that wasn't bogged down with committing tremendous resources on capital cases could prosecute and sentence countless other crimes and take dangerous people off the streets before they commit murder. Dollars saved could be put toward counseling for victims of crime or other services we desperately need as we attempt to get on with our lives."  The letter was signed by more than 20 individuals who had loved ones murdered in Illinois. The high cost of the death penalty was a concern highlighted in the legislative debate.  Since 2003, the state has spent over $100 million on the Capital Litigation Trust Fund, a sum that represents only a portion of the costs associated with implementing the death penalty in Illinois. The state has not had an execution since 1999, the year before former Republican Governor George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions after a series of exonerations exposed flaws in the system.  In 2003, Governor Ryan issued a blanket commutation, reducing the sentences of 167 death row inmates to life and pardoning four inmates.  Since then, use of the death penalty has declined sharply in Illinois. In the 1990s, the state averaged over 10 death sentences a year.  In 2009 and 2010, the state imposed only one death sentence each year. The fate of 15 people now on death row in Illinois is uncertain. They would not be affected by the legislation now being considered by Quinn, according to the Department of Corrections. However, the moratorium on executing prisoners could remain in place. Gov. Pat Quinn today declined to say whether he will sign a bill abolishing the death penalty that lawmakers just sent him, saying only he would reflect and "follow my conscience."