Former Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, wanted to bring back capital punishment in his state for Cop Killers to Illinois after the death of Officer Paul Bauer. Although we believe the death penalty should be use for all murders, we are happy that he spoke out in favor of it.
Execution of defendants—Engel, Fischer, Parsons, and Spies
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[PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.executedtoday.com/2008/11/11/1887-parsons-spies-fischer-engel-haymarket-martyrs/] |
Illinois governor wants to reinstate death penalty for cop killers, mass murderers
USA TODAY
CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner announced Monday that he wants to bring back the death penalty in Illinois for mass murderers and people who kill law enforcement officers, more than 18 years after capital punishment was effectively banned in the state.
Illinois hasn't put a criminal to death since 1999's execution of Andrew Kokoraleis, a member of a satanic gang that raped, mutilated and murdered as many as 20 women in the Chicago area in the early 1980s. Soon after Kokoraleis’ execution, then-governor George Ryan, a Republican, declared a moratorium on executions in the spate of wrongful convictions that had put a dozen men on Illinois' death row.
In March 2011, then-Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, signed a bill officially ending capital punishment in Illinois and simultaneously commuted the sentences of 15 prisoners.
“These individuals who commit mass murders, these individuals who choose to murder a law enforcement officer, they deserve to have their life taken,” Rauner said.
Under the GOP governor's proposal, death penalty suspects would have to be convicted by juries “beyond all doubt,” not just “beyond a reasonable doubt” required for guilty findings of other criminal offenses. The proposal also outlines that the state’s appeals courts would have to apply the same standard and conduct an independent review of the evidence with no deference paid to a jury’s decision.
“We want to raise the standard because we recognize legitimate concerns about the death penalty,” Rauner said. “We are intent on avoiding wrongful convictions and the injustice of inconsistency.”
The proposal to bring back the death penalty to Illinois was made as part of an amendatory veto of state legislation that would have implemented a 72-hour waiting period for assault weapons in Illinois.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/05/14/illinois-governor-bruce-rauner-reinstate-death-penalty/608578002/
Rauner Reaffirms Call to Reinstate Death Penalty
WBGZ Radio 9/27/2018 |
By Benjamin Yount - Illinois Radio
Network
Illinois hasn't executed anyone since 1999, but Gov. Bruce Rauner is once again pushing to bring back the death penalty.
The governor told officers at a ceremony Tuesday for murdered Chicago Police Cmdr. Paul Bauer that people who kill cops should be put to death.
"That is what is
right. That is what is just," Rauner said. "Our
police officers put themselves at risk to protect us. And we must protect
you."
The governor first talked about reinstating the death penalty back in the spring, but the idea failed to gain traction with lawmakers.
"I call again on the members of the General Assembly to join with me and reinstate the death penalty for anyone convicted beyond any doubt of killing a police officer," Rauner said.
Former Gov. George Ryan emptied Illinois' death row in 2000 after a series of wrongful convictions. Lawmakers abolished the death penalty in 2011.
INTERNET SOURCE: http://altondailynews.com/news/details.cfm?id=272230#.YEM7mdwRXIV
OTHER LINKS:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Rauner
http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2015/01/goodbye-pat-quinn.html
http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2015/03/bring-it-back-illinois.html
http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2020/11/john-stevens-baron-stevens-of.html
