Ill. house panel votes to abolish death penalty law

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An unidentified death row inmate in his cell in the North Condemned Unit at Pontiac Correctional Institution in Pontiac, Ill. In 2000, then Gov. George Ryan made Illinois the first state with the death penalty to suspend executions (AP Photo)

By Kevin Lee
Daily Journal

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Death row inmates may receive a reprieve from state lawmakers.

A bill that would abolish the death penalty in Illinois was endorsed Wednesday by a House committee on a 4-3 vote.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Maywood, called for lawmakers to decide how Illinois punishes its worst criminals. Gov. George Ryan gained international fame when he declared a moratorium on executions in January 2000 because of uncertainty over several death row cases. The moratorium has been extended by Governors Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn.

Read full story here: House panel votes to abolish death penalty law

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