Four weeks after Gov. George Ryan declared a statewide moratorium on the death penalty, the Illinois House overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that bans capital punishment for the mentally retarded.
The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Calvin Giles (D-Chicago), passed 117-1. Giles said it was easy to garner support after Ryan’s announcement on Jan. 31.
“I think what the governor did was set the tone in the state of Illinois by putting a temporary moratorium on the death penalty,” Giles said after the vote. “And I think that this bill shows (a need for) further review of the whole system and especially with the individuals that have been declared mentally retarded.”
At least 11 of about 160 inmates now on Illinois’ Death Row have scored 75 or below on at least one IQ test, according to a Tribune review of the state’s capital cases. Others made claims of mental retardation during sentencing hearings.
Giles said, however, the bill requires a prisoner to prove he or she was mentally retarded before the age of 18. The bill does not define metal retardation by a specific IQ level.
Giles also cited Anthony Porter, one of Illinois’ 13 inmates who have been exonerated and freed from Death Row. Porter’s lawyers produced tests showing his IQ was 51, about half the normal average.
The measure now heads to the Senate, where Senate President James “Pate” Philip (R-Wood Dale) is a longtime supporter of the death penalty.
Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale), vice chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that, given the lopsided House vote, “We’d be open to discussion.”
But Sen. Walter Dudycz (R-Chicago), a Chicago police detective and an assistant majority leader, questioned the merits of the bill.
“They can’t be sentenced to death if they don’t possess the mental capacity to understand the crime,” Dudycz said. “That’s how the judicial system works. To try to circumvent it doesn’t make sense.”
If the bill passes the Senate and the governor signs it, Illinois would become the 13th state with capital punishment that prohibits imposing death sentences on mentally retarded defendants.
The only vote against the bill Thursday was cast by state Rep. Tim Johnson (R-Champaign). He said the bill was well-intentioned, but he was concerned it did not clearly define mental retardation. He also said prisoners could make false claims, and if they were mentally incompetent they would not be on Death Row.
“I’m just concerned about opening the flood gates,” said Johnson, a longtime supporter of the death penalty.
Religious conservatives lost a significant battle earlier in the day when the House rejected a bill to let teachers and principals post the 10 Commandments in public schools.
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With opponents raising concerns about both the constitutionality and the practical effect of the proposal, even many conservatives cast votes against the measure.
“As a former school board member, I have major concerns about this bill,” said Republican Rep. Suzanne Bassi of Palatine. “The 10 Commandments are a major piece of my background and my faith. But the idea of posting this document poses severe problems.”
The measure was inspired by a dispute in southern Illinois, where a school board recently rescinded its own order to post the commandments out of fear of an expensive lawsuit.
Rep. Jim Fowler (D-Harrisburg), who represents that area in the House, had asked fellow lawmakers to pass a bill approving the posting of so-called “historical documents” like the 10 Commandments, U.S. Constitution and the Magna Carta.
While a vote for posting the biblical laws might otherwise seem like an easy vote for many lawmakers, the matter was complicated by the fact this is an election year.
Republicans hope to elect one of their own to Fowler’s seat and were reticent to help him pass a bill so popular in his area. The measure fell five votes short of passage with only 55 members voting in its favor.
Toll roads: The House passed a bill to give the legislature say-so over the expenditures of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Under the bill, the General Assembly would also have power to approve toll increases.