Legal Question in Criminal Law in Illinois

The death penalty is applicable only in criminal law, and only for certain specific offenses. And it is not lightly sought because it just makes people on juries think even harder about the possibility of being responsible for sending someone to his or her death. The law, not "TV", says the accused must first be found guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt" and that is a much much higher standard. When the State has the right to take a life, the hurdle is set extremely extremely high so that the innocent do not lose their lives. Then again, there are a lot of people who may be "guilty", meaning yes they may have done something terrible. But that is not the point of our legal system. It is up to the State to prove guilt through the procedures and rules of our legal system. We've come a far way from the time that people were found "guilty" of being witches and demons or put to death solely because they had some physical abnormality or disease. We also try not to put to death people who are so sick they did not even appreciate the fact that they committed a crime, although the very sick are usually institutionalized instead so they are not simply released back into the public where they might cause more harm. So while that hurdle is extremely high and doesn't always seem to do "justice", we are a society of justice "under law" meaning you can't justice into your own hands; the "law" must prevail before we as a society start depriving people of their very lives. And yes, sometimes the law fails: DNA evidence has undone the convictions of people tried by a jury without that evidence being available. But in the end, look around the world and you'll see that despite its flaws, our system of justice -- under law -- still provides strong safeguards for both the victim, and the accused.