The Illinois Supreme Court deserves a great deal of credit for adopting new rules to improve the handling of death-penalty cases in Illinois.
They are a bold step in the right direction. As the Tribune’s Jan. 24 editorial noted, the court’s action will help restore public confidence in Illinois justice.
Public confidence in our system of justice is essential. When Illinois re-enacted the death penalty in 1977, the state made a legal and moral commitment to the people of Illinois that, if executions take place in their name, they would be done right. The adoption of these rules, along with other actions by the executive and legislative branches of state government, demonstrate that leaders of our state take this commitment seriously.
The new Supreme Court rules will produce these improvements:
– Only lawyers with special skills and experience will be prosecuting and defending capital cases.
– Judges who preside over these cases will be specially trained.
– Prosecutors must identify for the defense any information they have that tends to negate the guilt of the accused, thus reducing the chance of pretrial or trial error.
– Prosecutors must provide early notice to the defense if the death penalty will be sought and provide the basis upon which the penalty will be sought, which will allow the defense to better prepare for trial.
– The admissibility of DNA evidence will be governed by uniform guidelines to ensure that such evidence is presented competently and intelligibly.
– Prosecutors are reminded that their duty is to seek justice, not merely to convict.
The Illinois State Bar Association researched and proposed the competency standards for lawyers–five years of criminal trial experience, including no fewer than eight felony trials, at least two of which were capital cases.
We are pleased that the court adopted these standards, along with our suggestion that two qualified lawyers be appointed to represent an indigent capital defendant.
Because of the high stakes in capital cases, it is only common sense that the lawyers involved should be the best available.
In addition to the action of the Illinois Supreme Court, the other two branches of Illinois government have been at work on the problems associated with the death penalty. Gov. George Ryan’s blue-ribbon committee is holding hearings and studying all sides of the issue. The Illinois General Assembly has created the Capital Crimes Litigation Act, a fund to provide both prosecutors and defense lawyers the resources necessary to search for the truth. The legislature also adopted a law to require preservation of DNA evidence and to permit its appropriate use in court.
All of these actions are a strong signal to the public that our laws will be fairly applied. The public expects and deserves nothing less.
