Some people oppose the death penalty, others favor it. In
recent years in Illinois, many people who were on death row have been
exonerated. The criminal justice has been put to shame with all these
exonerations. Why are people being exonerated? There are a couple of factors at
play.
In this presentation there will be three students (myself included) in which we
will examine the death penalty. One will outline the pros, the other the cons.
In the cons there will be a brief look at other options to the death penalty.
I will examine some of the reasons why the death penalty in Illinois has
failed. Some of the factors that will be looked at is police brutality, coerced
confessions, tampered and flawed evidence, the use of informants, and attorneys
and judges role on this issue. The Chicago Tribune has done a couple of
interesting investigations on this topic. Some of the information that they
uncovered will be discussed.
Interviews will be conducted on a small sample of attorneys from the State
Litigation Division. The information gathered will show the attorneys
viewpoints supporting/not supporting the death penalty and their experiences in
the courtroom.
Lastly, it is important to look at what is being done in Illinois regarding the
death penalty.
Governor Ryan has made some tasks forces relating to this topic. We will
briefly outline their duties and what relevant information they have found. We
will also take a look at what conclusions and suggestions they have come up
with, if any. Therefore, the presentation is geared in hopes of showing the
role of the death penalty Illinois.