Illinois Law Effectively Shuts Down Death Row, Ends Death Penalty

Inmates on Illinois’ death row were given a reprieve on Friday when a law was quietly passed in the state that makes it illegal to take the life of a prisoner who had been sentenced to death.

The execution law was promised by Governor Pat Quinn in March after various stories surfaced of inmates who had been sentenced to death for crimes they never committed, handfuls of prisoners have also been released from prison over the last decade as new DNA tests revealed their innocence.

Following his decision Quinn commuted the sentences of 15 men on death row to life in prison with no chance of parole, moving 14 of those men to a super-maximum prison in downstate Tamms, Illinois., while one was placed in a medium-high security prison at a mental health facility.

Only 12 prisoners have been executed since 1977, the last taking place in 1999.

The move to stop the death penalty is not a new fight, in 2000 then Governor George Ryan halted executions, garnering international acclaim for his efforts to end the barbaric practice.

The move also makes Illinois the fourth state in the past two years to end the penalty, following in the footsteps of New York, New Jersey and New Mexico.

If I had to guess it will be Texas as the final holdout once other states have taken to removing inmates from death row.

How do you feel about Illinois abolishing the death penalty?