Method of execution
Lethal injection for all 12
Crimes that Warranted Death PenaltyFirst degree murder (usually in addition to rape or robbery) treason (never actually used)
How the Death Penalty was Decided The jury would decide whether the defendant was guilty or not, and then in another phase of the trial, would decide to use the death penalty or not.
Victim Impact StatementsWhen the death penalty was around in Illinois, the victim impact statement allowed a family member of the victim to make a statement about how the crime affected them during the penalty phase of the sentencing.
Famous Cases
John Wayne Gacy: John Wayne Gacy was a serial killer who raped and murdered at least 33 young men/teenagers between 1975 and 1977. He buried the bodies in his crawlspace and around his house. (Gacy was a well respected member in his community- dressing up as a clown for young children at block parties, running a construction company, and becoming Democratic Precinct Captain.)
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Georgia (the case that made the death penalty federally legal again). What was famous about his case wasn’t the crime itself (the robbery/murder of a young couple), but how he died. The plastic tubing holding the poison had a kink, and it wasn’t able to reach his heart. He also had the tube inserted in his finger instead of his heart, so the poison had to go through the bloodstream between his fingers to his heart before he died. Because of this, the execution took twice as long as usual, and Walker died in horrifying