It has been 10 years since Illinois abolished the death penalty on March 9, 2011. It was a sad day for murder victims and their families and a victory for murderers. As we have consistently warned: Once Capital Punishment is abolished, the ACLU (and any Pro Murderer rights Groups) will start abolishing prison sentences next.
We post this in memory of the late Corrections Officer, Lou Lowery of Pontiac Correctional Center. He warned about the dangers of ending capital punishment in the state.
|
Lou Lowery, former
assistant warden at Pontiac Correctional Center, said he disagreed with Gov.
Pat Quinn’s decision to abolish Illinois’ death penalty. |
PONTIAC
— Louis O. Lowery, 81, of Pontiac, passed away March 8, 2016, in Pontiac.
His
funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Pontiac Bible Church, Pontiac, with
the Rev. Jarrod Bartholomew officiating. Burial will be in South Side Cemetery,
Pontiac, where full military rites will be accorded. Visitation will be from 4
to 8 p.m. Friday at the church. The family asks that any donations be made
to the Alzheimer's Association, 612 W. Glen Ave., Peoria, IL 61614; Boys &
Girls Club of Livingston County, 1303 E. Indiana Ave., Pontiac, IL 61764; or
Pontiac Holiday Tournament, c/o Pontiac Township High School, 1110 E. Indiana
Ave., Pontiac, IL 61764. Calvert & Martin Funeral Home, Pontiac, is
handling the arrangements.
Lou was
born March 5, 1935, in Brookport, to Carl and Jessie Lowery. He attended school
in Brookport and was the first African-American to graduate from Paducah Junior
College, where he was All-American in baseball. Lou served his country in the
U.S. Air Force. Upon leaving the Air Force, he played baseball for the minor
league of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Lou then began his 38-year career with the
State of Illinois Corrections. Most of those years were at the Pontiac
Correctional Center, where he worked in many positions until he retired.
Louis was
married to Kathryn for 40 years. He left behind his wife, Kathryn, Pontiac;
daughters, Denise (Troy Brown) Wesson, South Bend, Ind., and Donna (Greg)
Gill, Fort Wayne, Ind.; his son, Louis Nathan (Erin Broerman)
Lowery, Pontiac; his grandchildren, LaWanda (Larry) Parker, Alex (Maryori)
Wesson, Alexandria (Wilfred) Mkilindi, Robert Malone, Eli Lowery, Lyla Lowery
and Shavon Gill; great-grandchildren, Kaylan, Amari, Avianna, Akaila, Arrian,
Alina, Ch'Rya and Jayden; many nieces and nephews, including Winfred (Brandy)
Garner; Lonny (Beverly) Wade; Lynn McCutcheon; Jan (Chris) Hardy; Natasha
Lowery; Shannon, Sherelle and Terrance Wade; Morgan and Tyesha McCutcheon;
Madison Burns; cousins, including Caroline Burt and her daughter, Erica; and
many friends.
Lou was
preceded in death by his parents, Carl and Jessie Lowery; his brother, Russell
Lowery; and grandchild, Reanna Malone.
Louis was
a member of the Pontiac Bible Church, where he taught Awana and ushered for
many years. He enjoyed coaching and playing on community softball and
basketball teams. He was an avid sports fan, following the Chicago Cubs,
University of Illinois Fighting Illini, PTHS sports, the Pontiac Holiday
Tournament, and his grandchildren's sporting events.
Lou had a
love for life. He enjoyed sharing stories, a laugh and spending time with his
friends and family. He believed in treating everyone fairly. Louis will be greatly
missed by his family, former employees, and friends.
This
obituary may be viewed and guestbook signed at www.calvertmemorial.com.
 |
Those who allow violent criminals the opportunity to kill, maim and
rape, share the responsibility for it and the tragedy such crimes produce.
More, they allow these monsters to create for all of us a world as dark and
evil as their own.
‘Quinn made bad decision’
- Former PCC Warden
By Sheila Shelton
Posted Mar 19, 2011 @ 06:46 AM
A former
assistant warden at Pontiac Correctional Center believes Governor Pat Quinn
made a bad decision in abolishing Illinois’ death penalty.
“I am very upset with the governor’s decision. During
my 38 years at PCC I was involved with many Death Row inmates,” Lou
Lowery said in an interview with The Daily Leader Friday afternoon. ”I still say a person who did killing(s) deserves to die.”
Lowery said he understands that inmates in Illinois in the past have
been in Condemned Units and then been exonerated.
“I am glad that the actual killers were found or it
became clear that the person sentenced to death was innocent. Get the innocent
people off of Death Row, let them go, but don’t abolish the death sentence and
commute the death sentences like Quinn did.”
Lowery said as assistant warden of operations at PCC he had to review condemned
unit inmates’ records all the time.
“They couldn’t go on a writ for a court appearance or
anywhere else without me having thoroughly studied their records to make
certain what kind of danger they could pose to the public or the officers who
were accompanying them,” said Lowery. “These are
men who have nothing to lose. They have killed before and they will do it
again.”
He used as an example the four inmates charged in the murder of PCC
Superintendent Robert L. Taylor on Sept. 3, 1987. The four had not previously
been sentenced to death.
“They killed Superintendent Taylor right in his office at PCC. All four had previously been convicted of murder. He was stabbed six times, once through the heart and beaten with an iron pipe as he sat at his desk in the South Cellhouse,” said Lowery.
He said it bothers him that the 15 Death Row inmates from PCC could be put back in the general population at the prison. PCC is currently the only correctional center in the state to have a Death Row. All the inmates in it were sentenced to death since former Governor George Ryan placed a moratorium on the death sentence in January 2002.
“The 15 Death Row inmates, here, who had their death
sentences commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, should
not be kept here,” said Lowery. “The state needs
to find these men a different place to be housed. They need to be placed
elsewhere for staff and security reasons. Long-term sentences don’t deter
crime. These inmates will be too familiar with how PCC is run and they will
know too many officers and staff.”
Lowery said he was on the writ team that took the last inmate on Death
Row at PCC to be executed at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet.
“He never showed one bit of remorse for the family of
the person he killed,” he said. “I even had to
be at his execution at Stateville.”
Lowery said he feels especially fearful of the 15 men whose sentences were
recently commuted.
“Some of these men were on Death Row for more than one
murder. I am not an attorney. But I know what I feel and that is that a life
sentence doesn’t mean they won’t escape or kill somebody else,” he said.
 |
If the death penalty was
not imposed then "wrong really has finally totally triumphed over right
and all civilised society, all we hold dear, is the loser." - John
Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington [PHOTO SOURCE: https://quozio.com/quote/hwwv7bcchftj/1092/if-the-death-penalty-was-not-imposed-then-wrong-really-has] |
OTHER LINKS:
http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2021/03/illinois-murderers-dream-state.html
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