Death Penalty Blog Post 3

The abolishment of capital punishment in Illinois was justified. Many of the cases seemed flawed and in many of the cases that we have heard of there seems to be forced confessions due to threats made by the police. One of the lawyers that were interviewed in the video Deadline said that when there is a case that involves extreme violence or the public feels threatened, the police are under the pressure to find a suspect or to make an arrest. He went on to say that police can resort to threats and violence to force a confession from an innocent person in order to make an arrest. If police force confessions from innocent people, then those innocent people could be potentially placed on death row and given the death penalty. Journalism students discovered the innocence of Anthony Porter. The government and justice system did not investigate the case thoroughly and Anthony Porter almost paid with his life. In his speech Governor Ryan stated, “How many more cases of wrongful conviction have to occur before we can all agree that the system is broken?” This quote really shows Governor Ryan’s position on the death penalty in Illinois. Governor Ryan believes that there are plenty more innocent people sitting on death row. Governor Ryan believes that the death penalty is an effective form of punishment. But he strongly believes that the death penalty system is flawed, and there need to be major revisions made to the death penalty process before it can be reinstated in Illinois. I agree with Governor Ryan, the death penalty is an effective and just punishment in certain cases, but the death penalty process in Illinois has substantial flaws. Flaws that must be corrected before it can be reinstated in Illinois. Thanks to progressions in technology and DNA evidence, standards to convict a defendant are much higher, rather than simply using circumstantial evidence. For a defendant to be considered for the death penalty there should be overwhelming evidence or a confession to ensure the defendant’s guilt. To avoid discrimination in a death penalty case a jury of multiple ethnicities that is proportionally equal in numbers should be used to avoid racial discrimination. The abolishment of capital punishment in Illinois is just because there are major flaws in the system, which must be corrected before it can be reinstated.