The Nation - News from May 2, 1989

A federal judge ruled the Illinois death penalty violates a defendant’s right to a fair trial and declared the law unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Harold Baker vacated the death penalty against Charles Silagy, who is on Death Row at the Pontiac Correctional Center for the fatal 1980 stabbings of Cheryl Block, 32, and her roommate, Ann Waters, 29, of Danville. The ruling put in question the futures of the state’s 121 Death Row inmates, including John Wayne Gacy, who was convicted of killing 33 young men and boys. Baker said under Illinois law, prosecutors do not have to announce that a prosecution is a capital punishment case until after a conviction. He said a defendant should know the severity of a case at the start of trial. Illinois Atty. Gen. Neil Hartigan said his office will appeal.