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| [ Introduced ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
91_HR0060enr HR0060 Enrolled LRB9104922RCks 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION 60 2 WHEREAS, The Illinois House of Representatives takes 3 notice that judicial proceedings have established that at 4 least eleven innocent persons have been convicted of murder 5 and sentenced to death under Illinois' current death penalty 6 law; and 7 WHEREAS, Serious allegations of wrongdoing have led to 8 grand jury indictments charging local police and prosecutors 9 with official misconduct and perjury in connection with the 10 investigation and prosecution of one such capital case; and 11 WHEREAS, The federal racketeering conviction of one 12 Illinois State court judge, proven to have taken a bribe in 13 at least one capital case and possibly others, has led to a 14 new trial for the defendants in one such capital case and to 15 review by the United States Supreme Court in another; and 16 WHEREAS, It is imperative that the citizenry of the State 17 of Illinois have confidence in the fairness and truthful 18 application of law, especially in capital cases; and 19 WHEREAS, In order for the State to protect its moral and 20 ethical integrity, the State must ensure a justice system 21 which is impartial and uncorrupted; and 22 WHEREAS, The execution of an innocent person by the 23 People of the State of Illinois would be a grave and 24 irreversible injustice; therefore, be it 25 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 26 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 27 the House of Representatives does establish an independent, 28 non-partisan Task Force on the Death Penalty to study all 29 aspects of the death penalty as currently administered in 30 Illinois and not its abolition; and be it further HR0060 Enrolled -2- LRB9104922RCks 1 RESOLVED, That the Task Force on the Death Penalty, which 2 shall serve without compensation, shall be comprised of 12 3 members; 4 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of 4 Representatives; 4 shall be appointed by the House Minority 5 Leader; 2 shall be appointed by the State Appellate Defender 6 or his designee; one shall be appointed by the Attorney 7 General of Illinois or his designee; and one shall be 8 appointed by the Director of the Office of the State's 9 Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor; and be it further 10 RESOLVED, That the Task Force on the Death Penalty shall 11 hold public hearings and call before it witnesses to testify 12 on issues relevant to the administration of the death penalty 13 in Illinois; and be it further 14 RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its findings 15 and recommendations regarding the death penalty, including 16 remedies for any deficiencies, if any, found by the Task 17 Force, to the Governor, members of the House of 18 Representatives, and the Illinois Supreme Court, no later 19 than 6 months after the date of the adoption of this 20 Resolution; and be it further 21 RESOLVED, That the Illinois House of Representatives 22 urges the Governor to exercise his authority to grant 23 temporary reprieves under Article V, Section 12 of the 24 Illinois Constitution, and institute an immediate halt to 25 executions in the State of Illinois, and that such a 26 moratorium on executions remain in effect until the Task 27 Force has issued its findings and recommendations, but in any 28 event, no later than 6 months after the adoption of this 29 Resolution; and be it further 30 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives calls upon 31 the Supreme Court of Illinois to exercise its judicial 32 discretion under Supreme Court Rule 613 and refrain from HR0060 Enrolled -3- LRB9104922RCks 1 setting any execution dates until the Task Force has issued 2 its findings and recommendations, but in any event, no later 3 than 6 months after the adoption of this Resolution; and be 4 it further 5 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives calls upon 6 the Illinois Senate to consider and adopt a similar 7 resolution; and be it further 8 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this preamble and 9 resolution shall be presented to the Governor, the Chief 10 Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, the State Appellate 11 Defender, the Illinois Attorney General, the Director of the 12 Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, and the 13 President of the Illinois Senate.