Full Text of SJR0009 95th General Assembly
SJ0009 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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SJ0009 |
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Illinois now holds the distinction of being first | 3 |
| in the nation in the number of people exonerated by DNA | 4 |
| evidence in non-capital cases; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, Illinois has made great strides in identifying and | 6 |
| attempting to address the causes of wrongful convictions in | 7 |
| capital cases, but has not extended systemic reforms to | 8 |
| non-capital cases; and
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| WHEREAS, The incarceration of an innocent person not only | 10 |
| works an injustice against that individual, but also harms | 11 |
| society in that the real perpetrator of a crime remains free | 12 |
| and able to commit additional criminal acts; and
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| WHEREAS, Wrongful convictions result in an erosion of | 14 |
| public confidence in the judicial system; and
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| WHEREAS, The Appellate Courts review cases only for | 16 |
| procedural error and do not provide a forum for presenting | 17 |
| claims of actual innocence; and
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| WHEREAS, Defendants in non-capital cases do not have the | 19 |
| right to counsel on post-conviction, that stage of proceedings | 20 |
| in which new evidence supporting a claim of actual innocence |
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| can be presented, and therefore are unable to effectively | 2 |
| present such a claim; and
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| WHEREAS, Defendants against whom the death penalty is not | 4 |
| pursued, or for whom the death penalty has been taken off the | 5 |
| table, do not have the resources available to adequately defend | 6 |
| themselves; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 8 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 9 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Illinois Justice | 10 |
| Study
Committee, hereinafter referred to as the Committee, | 11 |
| consisting of 17 members,
and appointed as follows: | 12 |
| (1) Three members appointed by the Governor; | 13 |
| (2) Three members appointed by the President of the | 14 |
| Senate; | 15 |
| (3) Two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the | 16 |
| Senate; | 17 |
| (4) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the House | 18 |
| of Representatives; | 19 |
| (5) Two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the | 20 |
| House of
Representatives;
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| (6) One member appointed by the Cook County State's | 22 |
| Attorney; | 23 |
| (7) One member appointed by the Office of the Cook | 24 |
| County Public Defender; |
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| (8) One member appointed by the Office of the State | 2 |
| Appellate Defender; and | 3 |
| (9) One member appointed by the office of the State's | 4 |
| Attorneys Appellate
Prosecutor;
and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the appointed members shall be from diverse | 6 |
| backgrounds so as to reflect the diverse citizenry of Illinois; | 7 |
| and be it further | 8 |
| RESOLVED, That the Committee shall review all non-capital | 9 |
| wrongful conviction cases that have been resolved as of the | 10 |
| effective date of this resolution and which resulted from DNA | 11 |
| testing; a pardon granted on the basis of actual innocence; and | 12 |
| dismissal of charges or acquittals upon a retrial based on | 13 |
| relief granted by either the Illinois Appellate or Supreme | 14 |
| Courts, or the federal District, Court of Appeals, or United | 15 |
| States Supreme Court; and be it further | 16 |
| RESOLVED, That the Committee shall review any other | 17 |
| relevant material, identify the most common causes of wrongful | 18 |
| convictions in non-capital cases, identify current laws, rules | 19 |
| and procedures implicated in each type of causation, and | 20 |
| identify solutions through research, experts, public hearing, | 21 |
| and any other source the Committee deems appropriate; and be it | 22 |
| further |
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| RESOLVED, That the Committee shall consider rules, | 2 |
| procedures, educational, and legislative reforms that can aid | 3 |
| in eliminating future wrongful convictions; and be it further | 4 |
| RESOLVED, That the Committee shall consider whether the | 5 |
| State of Illinois should put into place a procedure for | 6 |
| addressing claims of factual innocence prior to appellate | 7 |
| review of a conviction; and be it further | 8 |
| RESOLVED, That the Committee shall do a cost analysis of | 9 |
| wrongful convictions; and be it further | 10 |
| RESOLVED, That the Committee shall elicit voluntary | 11 |
| assistance from educational, legal, civic, and professional | 12 |
| organizations and institutions as well as notable individuals; | 13 |
| and be it further | 14 |
| RESOLVED, That the Committee shall submit its final report | 15 |
| to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before June 1, | 16 |
| 2008.
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