|
|
|||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 9 | ||||||
| 2 | (As Amended by Senate Amendment No. 1)
| ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, Illinois now holds the distinction of being first | ||||||
| 4 | in the nation in the number of people exonerated by DNA | ||||||
| 5 | evidence in non-capital cases; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Illinois has made great strides in identifying and | ||||||
| 7 | attempting to address the causes of wrongful convictions in | ||||||
| 8 | capital cases, but has not extended systemic reforms to | ||||||
| 9 | non-capital cases; and
| ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, The incarceration of an innocent person not only | ||||||
| 11 | works an injustice against that individual, but also harms | ||||||
| 12 | society in that the real perpetrator of a crime remains free | ||||||
| 13 | and able to commit additional criminal acts; and
| ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, Wrongful convictions result in an erosion of | ||||||
| 15 | public confidence in the judicial system; and
| ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, The Appellate Courts review cases only for | ||||||
| 17 | procedural error and do not provide a forum for presenting | ||||||
| 18 | claims of actual innocence; and
| ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Defendants in non-capital cases do not have the | ||||||
| 20 | right to counsel on post-conviction, that stage of proceedings | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | in which new evidence supporting a claim of actual innocence | ||||||
| 2 | can be presented, and therefore are unable to effectively | ||||||
| 3 | present such a claim; and
| ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Defendants against whom the death penalty is not | ||||||
| 5 | pursued, or for whom the death penalty has been taken off the | ||||||
| 6 | table, do not have the resources available to adequately defend | ||||||
| 7 | themselves; therefore, be it
| ||||||
| 8 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 9 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | ||||||
| 10 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Illinois Justice | ||||||
| 11 | Study
Committee, hereinafter referred to as the Committee, | ||||||
| 12 | consisting of 17 members,
and appointed as follows: | ||||||
| 13 | (1) Three members appointed by the Governor; | ||||||
| 14 | (2) Three members appointed by the President of the | ||||||
| 15 | Senate; | ||||||
| 16 | (3) Two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the | ||||||
| 17 | Senate; | ||||||
| 18 | (4) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the House | ||||||
| 19 | of Representatives; | ||||||
| 20 | (5) Two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the | ||||||
| 21 | House of
Representatives;
| ||||||
| 22 | (6) One member appointed by the Cook County State's | ||||||
| 23 | Attorney; | ||||||
| 24 | (7) One member appointed by the Office of the Cook | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | County Public Defender; | ||||||
| 2 | (8) One member appointed by the Office of the State | ||||||
| 3 | Appellate Defender; and | ||||||
| 4 | (9) One member appointed by the Office of the State's | ||||||
| 5 | Attorneys Appellate
Prosecutor;
and be it further
| ||||||
| 6 | RESOLVED, That the appointed members shall be from diverse | ||||||
| 7 | backgrounds so as to reflect the diverse citizenry of Illinois; | ||||||
| 8 | and be it further | ||||||
| 9 | RESOLVED, That the Committee shall review all non-capital | ||||||
| 10 | wrongful conviction cases that have been resolved as of the | ||||||
| 11 | effective date of this resolution and which resulted from DNA | ||||||
| 12 | testing; a pardon granted on the basis of actual innocence; and | ||||||
| 13 | dismissal of charges or acquittals upon a retrial based on | ||||||
| 14 | relief granted by either the Illinois Appellate or Supreme | ||||||
| 15 | Courts, or the federal District, Court of Appeals, or United | ||||||
| 16 | States Supreme Court; and be it further | ||||||
| 17 | RESOLVED, That the Committee shall review any other | ||||||
| 18 | relevant material, identify the most common causes of wrongful | ||||||
| 19 | convictions in non-capital cases, identify current laws, rules | ||||||
| 20 | and procedures implicated in each type of causation, and | ||||||
| 21 | identify solutions through research, experts, public hearing, | ||||||
| 22 | and any other source the Committee deems appropriate; and be it | ||||||
| 23 | further | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | 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 December | ||||||
| 16 | 31, 2008.
| ||||||