The
Chicago Tribune calls for an extension on the moratorium on executions in
Illinois until greater reforms are enacted
Only after those reforms are in place should the debate turn to this
question:
Has the criminal justice system been sufficiently fixed that
Illinois can lift [Gov.] Ryan's moratorium on executions with the assurance
that no innocent person will be put to death?
So far, the answer is easy: No. Before there is to be assurance that
our system issues punishments that are fair and correct, many more reforms
need to be enacted.
The
Tribune noted the many flaws in Illinois' justice system that have been
revealed in the paper's investigations, including prosecutorial misconduct,
convictions based on the notoriously unreliable testimony of jailhouse
informants, and inadequate defense representation.
Fixing
criminal justice
Published
December 31, 2001
Since
1999, several Tribune special investigations and other reports have
methodically documented problems in America's system of criminal justice.
They also have shown in haunting detail that the process by which
prosecutors seek and win murder convictions, sometimes accompanied by death
sentences, too often is built upon unacceptably cracked foundations.
Each
time reporters Ken Armstrong, Steve Mills and Maurice Possley turned over
another rock in the system, they ended up finding additional problems, each
one as profound as the last. Together, their series of articles help
explain why in Illinois 13 Death Row defendants have been found to have
erroneous convictions, one more than the number of murderers executed since
capital punishment was reinstated here in 1977.
The
reporters' work raised so many questions of innocence and fairness that no
one--least of all Illinois' governor, George Ryan--could ignore them.
Fortunately,
Ryan decided early in his administration that beyond acknowledging the
problems, he would be the one to champion the cause of reform. Until that
point was reached, he promised, no executions would take place on his watch.
It was the right thing to do, and the only thing to do.
Now
Ryan's watch is almost over--he leaves office in little more than a
year--but the work remaining is far from it.
One
Tribune investigation, published last year, examined executions across the
United States and found dozens of cases where prosecutors had built--and
won--cases by using questionable evidence that subsequently was proven
wrong or eyewitness testimony that later was recanted.
Other
Tribune reports found improper decisions by inexperienced judges. Innocence
proven by DNA testing. Prosecutors knowingly using perjured testimony.
Inept and even disbarred defense attorneys. Convictions dependent on the
notoriously unreliable testimony of jailhouse informants.
Earlier
this month the Tribune looked into the problem of innocent people
confessing falsely to crimes they did not commit, helped along by police
using improper tactics and coercion.
Another
report found that nearly 7 percent of inmates on Illinois' Death Row had
scored low enough on IQ tests to be considered mentally retarded or
borderline mentally retarded.
Various
high-level committees have been formed since 1999 to look into these
fissures in the criminal justice system. An Illinois Supreme Court
committee recommended that judges receive more frequent training about
handling complex death penalty cases, and that ethical rules for
prosecutors include a new caution that their job is about seeking justice,
not just winning convictions.
Some
of the important recommendations to come from this committee and from other
criminal justice initiatives have been put into effect.
Resources
to defense attorneys and prosecutors were increased to help them mount more
thorough cases. Minimum standards were set for both public defenders and
privately retained lawyers who handle capital cases. Judges who hear death
penalty cases now are required to complete periodic training. Other law
enforcement officials have bolstered their own internal systems of checks
and balances before pursuing death penalty cases.
These
measures represent progress.
But
not enough.
Before
there is to be assurance that our system issues punishments that are fair
and correct, many more reforms need to be enacted. But some of these very
measures were either ignored or rejected over the past two years by the
state's General Assembly. Among them:
- A
bill to sharply curb the use of jailhouse informant testimony by having a
judge first determine whether it is reliable enough to present at trial.
The measure passed the House but not the Senate.
- A
bill allowing defense attorneys to depose key witnesses before trial in
order to better prepare their cases.
-
Legislation sharpening penalties for prosecutors who knowingly withhold
evidence critical to the defense.
-
An attempt to outlaw executions of those who are mentally retarded.
-
Legislation that would require police to videotape all interrogations of
suspects in murder and rape cases who are in custody.
These
and other reforms need to be adopted before Ryan leaves office. Last year,
the governor appointed a special committee to examine capital punishment in
Illinois. That committee's recommended reforms are sure to carry plenty of
weight.
But
the committee's report is long overdue and time is running out. Ryan is a
lame duck with diminishing political clout. It's unclear whether Ryan's
successor will make reform of the criminal justice system a centerpiece of
the next administration. One hopes he or she will, because plenty of
important changes remain to be made.
Only
after those reforms are in place should the debate turn to this question:
Has
the criminal justice system been sufficiently fixed that Illinois can lift
Ryan's moratorium on executions with the assurance that no innocent person
will be put to death?
So far, the answer is easy: No. Before there is to be
assurance that our system issues punishments that are fair and correct,
many more reforms need to be enacted.
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