Illinois abolishes death penalty

(The Guardian): Illinois has abolished the death penalty after two decades of deliberation on the grounds that the justice system could execute innocent people by mistake, in a move that is likely to renew calls for other US states to follow. The move will save 15 men from execution who are on Illinois’s death row, moving them to life in prison with no hope of parole. Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat who has long supported capital punishment, spent two months deliberating on the decision, which he described as the most difficult he has made in office. "If the system can’t be guaranteed, 100% error-free, then we shouldn’t have the system," Quinn said.

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