April 24, 2003

Studying A Messy Social Problem: The Illinois Death Penalty
312-996-8700

Reminder for Thursday, April 24 at 4:00 pm......
A Great Cities Institute Lecture:
Studying A Messy Social Problem: The Illinois Death Penalty
Presenter:
Jean Templeton
Research Director for the Governor’s Commission on
Capital Punishment in Illinois
Doctoral student, Public Policy Analysis; Urban Planning and Policy Program
UIC College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs

Thursday, April 24, 2003
4:00 pm

Former Governor Ryan appointed a blue-ribbon commission to study the state’s capital punishment system in early 2000. The Commission’s report, issued in April 2002, recommended 85 reforms to the capital punishment system in Illinois. The report received international media attention, and contributed significantly to the nationwide debate on the death penalty. Before leaving office in January of 2003, Governor Ryan commuted the death sentences of 167 of the state’s death row inmates, and pardon four inmates completely.

How did the Commission begin its review of this difficult social issue? The Commission’s research director, Jean Templeton, will share some perspectives on
• The events which precipitated the imposition of the Governor’s moratorium and the resulting study of the Capital Punishment system in Illinois
• The development of the Commission’s comprehensive analysis of the Illinois capital punishment system and its recommendations for improvements, in areas ranging from police practices investigating crime to the post-conviction review process by the courts
• A brief summary of the quantitative study which examined the extent to which extra-legal factors, such as race and geography, impact upon capital sentencing in Illinois.

Jean M. Templeton served as the Research Director for the Governor’s Commission on Capital Punishment in Illinois. She was responsible for developing and managing the substantive research agenda for the Commission’s work, and was the principal drafter of the Commission’s 200 page report released in April of 2002. The Commission’s research included an exhaustive review of Illinois capital cases, substantive legal research into the capital punishment laws of other states, and a quantitative study on the effects of race and geography on the imposition of capital punishment in Illinois. Following the release of the Commission’s report, Ms. Templeton continued to advise former Illinois Governor George Ryan and his senior staff during the proceedings in fall/winter of 2002-3 with respect to the grant of executive clemency to death row prisoners. An Illinois attorney since 1981, Ms. Templeton is currently completing her PhD. in Public Policy Analysis at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

A complete copy of the Commission’s report and Technical Appendix is available on the Internet at www.idoc.state.il.us/ccp.

Great Cities Institute is located at:
412 South Peoria Street, Fourth Floor
Please RSVP: 312-996-8700

For those individuals interested in attending the Great Cities Institute Lecture: "Studying A Messy Social Problem: The Illinois Death Penalty", please be advised that if you need disability accommodations to participate in this event, contact Christiana Kinder (312-996-8700) at least one week in advance. Thank you.