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Abolish the death penalty? ISBA will consider issuesSection councils and committees of the Illinois State Bar Association are taking a close look at legislation that could terminate capital punishment in this state. ISBA past president Terrence K. Hegarty urged the Board of Governors on March 7 to take a formal position in favor of abolition of the death penalty, calling it an arbitrary process that has not been fair. Hegarty pointed out that Midwest states of Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota do not have the death penalty, nor does any other civilized, industrial nation in the Western Hemisphere. He said a racial and geographic bias is built into the system, pointing out that 18 individuals who were sentenced to death and put on Death Row were eventually exonerated and freed. The cost of maintaining capital punishment is excessive and takes funding away from necessary criminal justice programs, Hegarty said. He referred to a report from the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty that between 1977 and 2002, $800 million more was spent on the death penalty system than if the state had adopted a life-without-parole penalty instead. Senate Bill 328, which was filed in February 2007, would provide that after its effective date, “no person may be executed,” and resentencing would be required “of those already sentenced to death.” It has since been converted into a shell bill for possible legislation in the future. The Board of Governors voted to refer SB 328 to ISBA sections and committees for study and comment in time for the issue to be placed on the Assembly agenda in June.
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