Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law March 9 a groundbreaking ban on capital punishment, and changed the futures of 15 death-row inmates by sentencing them to life without parole, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Quinn said that he followed his conscience. He told reporters, "Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. I think it's the right, just thing to abolish the death penalty."
The ban comes almost a dozen years after then-Gov. George Ryan imposed a moratorium on the death penalty after 13 death-row inmates were cleared since the penalty was reinstated in 1977.
The American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) released a statement praising Quinn's move. "By repealing the death penalty, Gov. Quinn and the Illinois legislature have taken an historic stand against the systemic injustices that plague the entire death penalty system in Illinois and the rest of the United States," said John Holdridge, director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project. "Executions in this country are carried out as part of an unequal system of justice, in which innocent people are too often sentenced to death and decisions about who lives and who dies are largely dependent upon the skill of their attorneys, the race of their victim, their socioeconomic status and where the crime took place.
However, not everyone was pleased with the development. In a statement, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said, "I am extremely disappointed with the governor's decision. Today is a very sad day for justice in Illinois and a tremendously disappointing day for murder victims and their families.
"The decision to abolish the death penalty in our state is a matter that should have been put in the hands of voters to decide."
The measure Quinn signed, Senate Bill 3539, will become law July 1.