Learning From Illinois
We hate their toll roads and lead-footed drivers, their sports teams and especially their fans, but now and again the State of Illinois does something right.
Like abolishing capital punishment.
And with good reason: people were wrongly accused and convicted of capital crimes in Illinois, and if not for the heroic journalism of Chicagoan Rob Warden, the abuses might never have been unearthed and stopped.
More here.
A man just walked out of a Texas prison after serving 30 years for a sexual assault he did not commit - - and others in Texas have been freed after wrongful convictions.
That's bad enough, but when mistakes are made in capital crime cases, the consequences are permanent.
I know that conservatives now ruling the state legislature want to bring back the death penalty in Wisconsin.
That would put people in the justice system here into a killing machine. It would be a tremendous waste of money, too.
This is one situation from which we could learn something from our neighbors to the South.
Let's not miss the chance.
3 comments:
I can’t imagine learning anything of value from the State to the south. Up here we say “don’t Illinois me”.
There are cases where it can be appropriate such as the most recent case in Arizona where the crime is particularly nasty and guilt is not in question (although some people seem to be claiming that Sarah Palin and ammunition clips are to blame). Capital punishment should probably be banned in Illinois and Texas since it appears that their particular legal systems are faulty and the burden of proof of guilt is not as stringent as it should be in capital offense cases. After their system gets fixed then they can restore capital punishment as has happened on a federal level.
By the way, nice picture at the top of the page of developed farmland, providing sustenance for us all.
So, from one conservative who no longer supports capital punishment, “Good for Illinois”.
Imprisonment for viscous crimes can be dealt with by making their incarceration undesirable.
James, you stated, “I know that conservatives now ruling the state legislature want to bring back the death penalty in Wisconsin.” Is this statement based on a generalization, or do you have any actual supporting evidence? Which conservatives? What is the state of any effort to bring the death penalty back to Wisconsin?
More sensationalism?
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