CHICAGO (AP) -- Claiming Illinois' death penalty process has been reformed, DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett joined state Representative Dennis Reboletti of Elmhurst in urging Governor Rod Blagojevich to resume executions.
But Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff says the governor plans to keep the moratorium on death penalties in place until it's clear the reforms put in place are adequate and working.
It has been eight years since the moratorium was imposed by then-Governor George Ryan, who cited the more than a dozen people improperly put on Death Row.
In 2003, the Illinois Supreme Court approved rules for death-penalty cases that include mandatory use of videotape confessions, broader use of DNA analysis and strict standards for attorneys.
Birkett acknowledged even if Blagojevich allowed executions to resume, no one on Death Row is close to being executed.
(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA