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1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Illinois now holds the distinction of being first | ||||||
3 | in the nation in the number of people exonerated by DNA | ||||||
4 | evidence in non-capital cases; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, Illinois has made great strides in identifying and | ||||||
6 | attempting to address the causes of wrongful convictions in | ||||||
7 | capital cases, but has not extended systemic reforms to | ||||||
8 | non-capital cases; and
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9 | WHEREAS, The incarceration of an innocent person not only | ||||||
10 | works an injustice against that individual, but also harms | ||||||
11 | society in that the real perpetrator of a crime remains free | ||||||
12 | and able to commit additional criminal acts; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Wrongful convictions result in an erosion of | ||||||
14 | public confidence in the judicial system; and
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15 | WHEREAS, The Appellate Courts review cases only for | ||||||
16 | procedural error and do not provide a forum for presenting | ||||||
17 | claims of actual innocence; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Defendants in non-capital cases do not have the | ||||||
19 | right to counsel on post-conviction, that stage of proceedings | ||||||
20 | in which new evidence supporting a claim of actual innocence |
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1 | can be presented, and therefore are unable to effectively | ||||||
2 | present such a claim; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Defendants against whom the death penalty is not | ||||||
4 | pursued, or for whom the death penalty has been taken off the | ||||||
5 | table, do not have the resources available to adequately defend | ||||||
6 | themselves; therefore, be it
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7 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | ||||||
8 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | ||||||
9 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Illinois Justice | ||||||
10 | Study
Committee, hereinafter referred to as the Committee, | ||||||
11 | consisting of 17 members,
and appointed as follows: | ||||||
12 | (1) Three members appointed by the Governor; | ||||||
13 | (2) Three members appointed by the President of the | ||||||
14 | Senate; | ||||||
15 | (3) Two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the | ||||||
16 | Senate; | ||||||
17 | (4) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the House | ||||||
18 | of Representatives; | ||||||
19 | (5) Two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the | ||||||
20 | House of
Representatives;
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21 | (6) One member appointed by the Cook County State's | ||||||
22 | Attorney; | ||||||
23 | (7) One member appointed by the Office of the Cook | ||||||
24 | County Public Defender; |
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1 | (8) One member appointed by the Office of the State | ||||||
2 | Appellate Defender; and | ||||||
3 | (9) One member appointed by the office of the State's | ||||||
4 | Attorneys Appellate
Prosecutor;
and be it further
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5 | RESOLVED, That the appointed members shall be from diverse | ||||||
6 | backgrounds so as to reflect the diverse citizenry of Illinois; | ||||||
7 | and be it further | ||||||
8 | RESOLVED, That the Committee shall review all non-capital | ||||||
9 | wrongful conviction cases that have been resolved as of the | ||||||
10 | effective date of this resolution and which resulted from DNA | ||||||
11 | testing; a pardon granted on the basis of actual innocence; and | ||||||
12 | dismissal of charges or acquittals upon a retrial based on | ||||||
13 | relief granted by either the Illinois Appellate or Supreme | ||||||
14 | Courts, or the federal District, Court of Appeals, or United | ||||||
15 | States Supreme Court; and be it further | ||||||
16 | RESOLVED, That the Committee shall review any other | ||||||
17 | relevant material, identify the most common causes of wrongful | ||||||
18 | convictions in non-capital cases, identify current laws, rules | ||||||
19 | and procedures implicated in each type of causation, and | ||||||
20 | identify solutions through research, experts, public hearing, | ||||||
21 | and any other source the Committee deems appropriate; and be it | ||||||
22 | further |
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1 | RESOLVED, That the Committee shall consider rules, | ||||||
2 | procedures, educational, and legislative reforms that can aid | ||||||
3 | in eliminating future wrongful convictions; and be it further | ||||||
4 | RESOLVED, That the Committee shall consider whether the | ||||||
5 | State of Illinois should put into place a procedure for | ||||||
6 | addressing claims of factual innocence prior to appellate | ||||||
7 | review of a conviction; and be it further | ||||||
8 | RESOLVED, That the Committee shall do a cost analysis of | ||||||
9 | wrongful convictions; and be it further | ||||||
10 | RESOLVED, That the Committee shall elicit voluntary | ||||||
11 | assistance from educational, legal, civic, and professional | ||||||
12 | organizations and institutions as well as notable individuals; | ||||||
13 | and be it further | ||||||
14 | RESOLVED, That the Committee shall submit its final report | ||||||
15 | to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before June 1, | ||||||
16 | 2008.
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