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NACDL News
By Jack King; Ivan Dominguez
Illinois Abolishes Death Penalty
On March 9, 2011, in response to the governor’s signing of legislation
that will eliminate the death penalty in Illinois for state crimes,
NACDL President Jim E. Lavine issued the following statement of thanks
to Gov. Patrick Quinn:
On behalf of more than 10,000 members of the National
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the 40,000 members of our
affiliate organizations across the country and around the world, I want
to personally thank and congratulate Gov. Patrick J. Quinn for his
crucial and decisive action today.
As our members who defend those accused of capital crimes know all too
well, and the People of Illinois have recognized, the death penalty is
brutal, costly, and carries the intolerable risk of execution of the
innocent. Life imprisonment, by contrast, protects the public just as
well, if not better than capital punishment, and is much less expensive.
Life imprisonment also allows for the possibili
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- Media inquiries: Contact NACDL's Director of Public Affairs & Communications Ivan J. Dominguez at 202-465-7662 or idominguez@nacdl.org
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