|
April 11, 1997 To whom it may concern: The Chicago Council of Lawyers is seeking a moratorium on imposition of the death penalty in Illinois, and we would like to invite you to join us in this effort. Repeatedly, persons are being convicted of murder and sentenced to death, then later found to be innocent. There have been seven such cases in just the past two and a half years, demonstrating that the system urgently needs fixing, and we believe the state must stop executions until it can be fixed. You may have heard of other efforts for a moratorium by the American Bar Association and by an ad hoc group in Illinois. While we believe those campaigns have merit, their focus is broader, encompassing the system's numerous problems of unfairness and injustice. Our specific concern is with innocence, and our position is that no matter what one may think of the death penalty or the way it operates, no right-thinking person approves of killing innocent people. Our plan is to try to persuade the General Assembly, the Governor and the Illinois Supreme Court to call a moratorium on executions until a study can be conducted of what is wrong with the system. We will hold a press conference to announce this, and we would like you to participate in it (or, if that's not possible, to allow us the use of your name). Enclosed is a copy of our Call for a Moratorium. If you would like to join us, please contact the Council by April 22nd. We welcome not only your support but your input as we proceed to carry out the effort. If you have questions, you can contact Ed McManus through the Council office. Sincerely, Martin
J. Oberman Ed
McManus
|