DEATH PENALTY
The Roderick MacArthur Justice Center (the Justice Center) works through litigation and public education to sensitize the public to the injustices of the death penalty.
On the litigation side, the Justice Center has represented capital defendants at all stages of the process. The Justice Center has also authored several important amicus briefs, each focusing on particular flaws in the capital punishment system in Illinois.
On the public education side, the Justice Center has long been a leading voice against the use of capital punishment in Illinois and was an early advocate for the death penalty moratorium, which Illinois Governor George Ryan imposed in January 2000. One focus of the Justice Center's education efforts (and a driving force in the movement for a moratorium in Illinois) has been the cases of 13 men who were sentenced to death but later cleared of their crimes. Click here to learn more about the 13 cases.
- U.S. Supreme Court Hears Medellin v. Dretke
- Roderick MacArthur Justice Center Leads Statewide Clemency Petition
- Death Row Sentence Reversed for Dickie Gaines
- Death Row Inmate Ronald Jones Exonerated
