Time to abolish death penalty

I recently heard from a man who is living proof of why we need to repeal the death penalty in Illinois. Randy Steidl spoke to a crowd of us at the St. Charles Public Library about his experience spending 12 years on death row as an innocent man. Joining Randy were two women - one lost a brother to murder, the other a daughter.

They affirmed my belief that the death penalty process is flawed beyond repair and harms victims' families. The majority of victims' families and police chiefs much prefer that the millions of dollars invested in the death penalty instead go to law enforcement, crime prevention and education, alcohol/drug abuse programs, programs for the mentally ill and to resources to help victims' families.

The death penalty does not deter murders and does not, by example, teach people not to kill. There is really no good justification for the death penalty. The fact that people are executed "by the people of Illinois" diminishes all of us, and the problems with the system are not going away. Now is the time to repeal the death penalty in Illinois saving the state millions of dollars per year by sentencing life in prison without parole. We need to put our money where it is needed, especially considering our state's huge fiscal deficits.

I hope our legislators will do the right thing and abolish the death penalty once and for all in Illinois.

Mary Ann Naas

Geneva