Ill. Weighs Death Penalty Reforms

Illinois, one of two states that has suspended the death penalty pending review, would vastly scale back executions under legislation proposed Monday by Gov. George Ryan.

“It is imperative that we move forward ... to fix our broken justice system,” said Ryan, who put capital punishment on hold two years ago after investigations revealed that innocent people were being put on death row.

Ryan’s proposal follows recommendations issued by a panel in April. It would ban the execution of people who are mentally retarded, require that juries be told to consider life in prison as an alternative, reduce the number of factors that make a crime punishable with death from 20 to five, and ban the death penalty when a conviction is based only on the word of a jailhouse “snitch.”

Maryland last week joined Illinois in placing a moratorium on executions pending review of the system’s fairness on racial and geographic grounds.