Monday, January 24, 2011

Gov. Quinn: sign the death penalty abolition bill - Former judges and prosecutors say

The letter below was sent yesterday to Gov. Quinn signed by 65 retired judges and prosecutors, both state and federal. This underscores the need for people to keep calling the Governor urging him to sign the bill!

-------------------------------------------------------------



January 21, 2011



Hon. Pat Quinn

Governor of Illinois

207 State House

Springfield, Illinois 62706



RE: Death Penalty Abolition Bill



Dear Governor Quinn:



We - a group of former state and federal prosecutors, judges, assistant attorneys general, and U.S. Justice Department lawyers - urge you to sign the death penalty abolition bill passed by the General Assembly.

We are deeply concerned, as we know you are, about public safety. But there simply is
no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime. Also, particularly given our state's severe budget problems, it is apparent that we are spending scarce public funds on a punishment that is flawed and rarely imposed. In the last decade, it has been reported that more than $100 million has been expended from the Capital Litigation Trust Fund on pretrial investigations of some 500 potential capital cases. During that period, only 20 defendants have been sentenced to death and only 15 of those remain on death row. We are living in a time of fiscal crisis. Throughout Illinois, law enforcement officials are struggling to find needed dollars for police, forensic investigations, and aggressive prosecution of a wide range of criminal activity. The vast sums that would be spent on the death penalty in the years ahead are sorely needed for other, more effective law enforcement purposes.

It has been argued that we need the death penalty as a means of obtaining guilty pleas in exchange for life sentences, but using the death penalty as an instrument of coercion has led to false pleas and erroneous convictions. It also has been argued that we should retain the death penalty for particularly heinous crimes, such as multiple murder, murder of children, and murder of police officers. Limiting the death penalty to those cases, however, would not solve the underlying flaws that inevitably occur when the authorities are under pressure to win convictions in high-profile cases.

After a full and fair debate, our elected representatives have sensibly voted to end the death penalty. We urge you to sign the bill.

Sincerely,


Cynthia Giacchetti
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney

On behalf of herself and the following:



Thomas M. Breen
Former Assistant Cook County
State’s Attorney



James B. Burns
Former U. S. Attorney



Stuart Chanen
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Patrick M. Collin s
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



William F. Conlon
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Vincent 1. Connelly
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



George J . Cotsirilos
Former Assistant Cook County
State's Attorney



William Cousins
Former Illinois Appellate Court Justice
Former Cook County Circuit Court Judge



Jeffrey H. Cramer
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Matthew C. Crowl
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Joseph J. Duffy
Former First Assistant U. S. Attorney
& Chief of the Criminal Division



Thomas A. Durkin
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Zack Fardon
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Gabriel A. Fuentes

Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Chris C. Gair
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



John N. Gallo
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Alan Greiman
Former Cook County Circuit Court Judge
Former Illinois Appellate Court Justice



Ted S. Helwig
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Patricia Brown Holmes
Former Cook County Circuit Court Judge

Former Assistant Cook County
State’s Attorney



Gary V. Johnson
Former Kane County State’s Attorney



Walter Jones
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Michael H. King
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney
For Attorney, U. S. Department of Justice
Organized Crime and Racketeering
Section



John Kocoras
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Steven M. Kowal
Former U. S. Department of Justice
Attorney



Michael Kreloff
Former Assistant Cook County
State’s Attorney
Former Assistant Illinois Attorney General



Scott Lassar
Former U. S. Attorney



Marvin Leavitt
Former Cook County Appellate Court Justice
Former Cook County Circuit Court Judge



George N. Leighton
Former Cook County Circuit Court Judge
Former Illinois Appellate Court Justice
Former U. S. District Court Judge



Lori E. Lightfoot
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Robert A. Loeb
Former Assistant Cook County
State’s Attorney



Jeremy Margolis
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney
Former Special Assistant Lake County
State’s Attorney (Prosecutor of Hector Ruben Sanchez)



William J. Martin
Former Assistant Cook County
State's Attorney (Chief Prosecutor of Richard Speck)



Mary Ann G. McMorrow
Former Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice
Former Illinois Appellate Court Justice
Former Cook County Circuit Court
Judge
Former Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney



Paddy McNamara

Former Cook County Circuit Court Judge



Michael D. Monico
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Jorge Montes

Former Assistant Cook County State's Attorney



Sheila Murphy
Former Cook County Circuit Court Judge



Gordon B. Nash, Jr.
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Lisa M. Nollar
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Mark D. Pollack
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Daniel M. Purdom
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Kwarne Y. Raoul
Former Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney



Daniel E. Reidy
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Dom J. Rizzi
Former Illinois Appellate Court Justice



Ron S. Safer
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Stephen A. Schiller
Former Cook County Circuit Court Judge



John R. Schmidt
Former Deputy U. S. Attorney General



Zaldwaynaka Scott
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Karen Shields
Former Cook County Circuit Court Judge



Charles B. Sklarsky
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney
Former Assistant Cook County State's Attorney



Michele Smith
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



William E. Spizzirri
Former Assistant Cook County State's Attorney



David J. Stetler
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Jeffrey E. Stone
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Jeanette Sublet
Former Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney



James R. Streicker
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney
Former Assistant Illinois Attorney General



Thomas P. Sullivan
Former U. S. Attorney



James R. Thompson
Former U. S. Attorney
Former Assistant Illinois Attorney General



Ann C. Tighe
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Scott Turow
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Alexander S. Vesselinovitch
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney



Dan K. Webb
Former U. S. Attorney



Warren D. Wolfson
Judge Former Illinois Appellate Court Justice
Former Cook County Circuit Court Judge



Sheldon T. Zenner
Former Assistant U. S. Attorney

No comments:

Post a Comment