97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3192

 

Introduced 2/24/2011, by Rep. Esther Golar

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
730 ILCS 5/3-3-13  from Ch. 38, par. 1003-3-13

    Amends the Unified Code of Corrections relating to executive clemency. Provides that the Governor shall decide each application and communicate his or her decision to the Prisoner Review Board within one year after the hearing by the Board on the petition seeking a pardon, commutation, or reprieve.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB3192LRB097 07458 RLC 47567 b

1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
5changing Section 3-3-13 as follows:
 
6    (730 ILCS 5/3-3-13)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1003-3-13)
7    Sec. 3-3-13. Procedure for Executive Clemency.
8    (a) Petitions seeking pardon, commutation, or reprieve
9shall be addressed to the Governor and filed with the Prisoner
10Review Board. The petition shall be in writing and signed by
11the person under conviction or by a person on his behalf. It
12shall contain a brief history of the case, the reasons for
13seeking executive clemency, and other relevant information the
14Board may require.
15    (a-5) After a petition has been denied by the Governor, the
16Board may not accept a repeat petition for executive clemency
17for the same person until one full year has elapsed from the
18date of the denial. The Chairman of the Board may waive the
19one-year requirement if the petitioner offers in writing new
20information that was unavailable to the petitioner at the time
21of the filing of the prior petition and which the Chairman
22determines to be significant. The Chairman also may waive the
23one-year waiting period if the petitioner can show that a

 

 

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1change in circumstances of a compelling humanitarian nature has
2arisen since the denial of the prior petition.
3    (b) Notice of the proposed application shall be given by
4the Board to the committing court and the state's attorney of
5the county where the conviction was had.
6    (c) The Board shall, if requested and upon due notice, give
7a hearing to each application, allowing representation by
8counsel, if desired, after which it shall confidentially advise
9the Governor by a written report of its recommendations which
10shall be determined by majority vote. The Board shall meet to
11consider such petitions no less than 4 times each year.
12    Application for executive clemency under this Section may
13not be commenced on behalf of a person who has been sentenced
14to death without the written consent of the defendant, unless
15the defendant, because of a mental or physical condition, is
16incapable of asserting his or her own claim.
17    (d) The Governor shall decide each application and
18communicate his decision to the Board within one year after the
19hearing by the Board on the petition seeking a pardon,
20commutation, or reprieve. The Board which shall notify the
21petitioner of the Governor's decision.
22    In the event a petitioner who has been convicted of a Class
23X felony is granted a release, after the Governor has
24communicated such decision to the Board, the Board shall give
25written notice to the Sheriff of the county from which the
26offender was sentenced if such sheriff has requested that such

 

 

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1notice be given on a continuing basis. In cases where arrest of
2the offender or the commission of the offense took place in any
3municipality with a population of more than 10,000 persons, the
4Board shall also give written notice to the proper law
5enforcement agency for said municipality which has requested
6notice on a continuing basis.
7    (e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit the
8power of the Governor under the constitution to grant a
9reprieve, commutation of sentence, or pardon.
10(Source: P.A. 89-112, eff. 7-7-95; 89-684, eff. 6-1-97.)