Quinn says Bishop Tutu, 'Dead Man Walking' nun lobbying him to sign death penalty ban

Gov. Pat Quinn said Thursday that South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu was among scores of people to weigh in with him as he considers what to do about a bill that would ban capital punishment in Illinois.

The governor faces a deadline of March 18 to act on the death penalty ban, which was passed by the legislature last month. He could do nothing and allow it to become law. He could veto the measure outright. And he could use his amendatory veto power to rewrite the legislation, which would effectively kill it since the bill was passed by the previous General Assembly.

“I’m looking at all aspects of that issue,” said Quinn, who has supported the death penalty but who has maintained a moratorium on state executions that was put in place by then-Gov. George Ryan in 2000 after a number of wrongly convicted people were sentenced to death. “I think it’s important for the governor to visit and listen to a variety of different groups and individuals on this very important issue."

Quinn said making a decision will require “a little bit more time, not much more” and that acting on the measure will occur “relatively soon."

Previously, Quinn has said he would make a decision based upon his “conscience” and not on based on his upbringing in the Catholic church, which opposes capital punishment.

“I’ve gotten a lot of communication from people all over Illinois, all over America and indeed the world,” Quinn said, citing a conversation with Tutu, the South African civil rights leader who fought apartheid and opposes the death penalty, and Sister Helen Prejean, the New Orleans nun whose story was the basis for the film “Dead Man Walking."

But Quinn said he also has talked to a law enforcement community that believes the threat of capital punishment is an effective tool. Last week, he said, he met with members of an anti-violence coalition whose members had family killed by violence. He was scheduled to meeting murder victims’ families later Thursday.

Quinn also had asked for input from Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who said last week that she considered “the death penalty is an appropriate and just punishment when a defendant commits multiple murders or murders a victim in a particularly heinous manner or circumstances."

One person he said he hasn’t heard from is Ryan, the former governor imprisoned in Indiana on federal corruption charges, who made Illinois the first state in the nation to have a moratorium on carrying out the death penalty.

“I’ve received a lot of books and articles and letters and e-mails. Many citizens of Illinois who aren’t celebrities of any kind, but have a strong feeling on the issue, pro and con, have sent in their point of view and this is healthy,” Quinn said. “I want to make sure we do this right and do it in a way that encourages dialogue. I think that’s the best way to go in a democracy."

Source: Chicago Tribune, February 24, 2011

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