Illinois Abolishes the Death Penalty

…and Governer Pat Quinn commuted all 15 of the death penalty sentences to life without the possibility of parole (which he did not have to do).

This is truly great. Illinois is the fourth state to abolish the death penalty in the last two years (joining New York, New Jersey, and New Mexico).  There are now 16 states that have abolished the death penalty.

• Check out this handy fact sheet on death penalty in the United States from the Death Penalty Information Center.
• Also, check out the ACLU’s blog post on the history of the death penalty in Illinois.