I sat back and watched the debate that unfolded in the Illinois House Judiciary Committee. Prosecutors from across the state each spoke and put their best arguments forward as to why lawmakers should vote to defeat the bill that would ultimately abolish the death penalty in Illinois. They had all but abandoned the original argument […]
Bill Clutter
Posted inOpinion
Open the ballot to third-party candidates
The very foundation of American democracy is the right of citizens to circulate petitions to appear on the ballot as candidates for public office. But just getting on the ballot as a candidate is a high hurdle, particularly if one seeks to run as a third-party candidate in Illinois. The problem is that the […]
Posted inNews
Stop wrongful convictions
After reading David Barnett’s op/ed [see Guestwork, “More important than repealing the death penalty,” Jan. 27] I would have to agree. Abolishing the death penalty does not cure the problem of innocent people being convicted by the state. Case in point: In Oct. 1997, Julie Rea Harper was indicted in Lawrence County for the murder […]
Posted inNews
From death row to hero
At the State Capitol, former death row inmate Randy Steidl became the improbable champion in the successful campaign to get the General Assembly to abolish the death penalty. Now he is trying to persude Gov. Pat Quinn to sign the repeal into law. He traveled a long road from death row to Springfield’s halls of […]
