Haine to push bill bringing back death penalty in worst cases

Fed up with mass shootings and the recent violence against law enforcement officers, state Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton, announced Thursday he would file legislation to restore the death penalty in extremely violent cases.

“As a former state’s attorney, I understand the complexities of seeking the death penalty for individuals who have committed heinous crimes,” said Haine. “I have been shocked and appalled by the recent killings we have seen in churches and of police officers. The reality is there are some crimes in which the death penalty should be an option for a jury of our citizens to consider.”

He added, “Those who take the life of officers, or engage in mass killings, need to face the appropriate consequences.”

The legislation would restore the death penalty as a sentence option for those convicted of serial killings, heinous murders of a child, of an elderly person or of a person with a disability, murders of crime witnesses, correctional officers and law enforcement officials, the statement said.

Illinois formally abolished the death penalty in 2011, though an execution here had not occurred in more than a decade after former Republican Gov. George Ryan commuted the death sentences of all prisoners on death row in 2000.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Haine to push bill bringing back death penalty in worst cases."