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Death Penalty Abolition

Our Position in Brief:
The League supports abolition of the death penalty in Illinois.

Full Statement of Where We Stand on Death Penalty Abolition

League Activity/Outlook:

The Illinois League is a member of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Upcoming activities of the Coalition:

July 13 - ICADP's annual meeting with Scott Turow.
Oct 28 - The Cunningham Carey dinner with Sr. Helen Prejean.
Jan 13 - 16, 2011 - Annual  conference of the ICADP in Chicago.

Information about these activities and contact information can be found at www.icadp.org/

The League's position opposing capital punishment was adopted in 2001. It allows the LWVIL and local Leagues in Illinois to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty and to support reforms which could lead to abolition.

Arguments for the Abolition of the Death Penalty:

  1. Inadequate legal representation is a better predictor of who is sentenced to death than the facts of the crime.
  2. The death penalty system is prone to error to an extent that is unacceptable.
  3. That innocent people are being killed is not only possible but likely. The error rate and the fact than any number of the exonerated were saved by luck or at the last minute points to an unacceptable risk of killing innocent people.
  4. The death penalty cannot be adequately reformed. Legislation cannot correct flaws such as: eyewitness error, false testimony, police and prosecutorial misconduct, arbitrariness (factors such as geography, race, and class).
  5. The international community is moving toward abolition of the death penalty.
  6. The death penalty is costly and quite often does not deliver the promised “ultimate justice.” The death penalty is much more expensive than its closest alternative—life imprisonment with no parole.

    Further Discussion of these Arguments
Additional Resources:
Direct your questions and comments about the Death Penalty issue to Janet Kittlaus at issues@lwvil.org.
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