 |
|
Public Affairs coverage from our award-winning staff |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Degorski to be Sentenced to Life in Prison
Produced by Susie An on Wednesday, November 04, 2009
|
|
Juan Luna, James Degorski's Acomplice(Photo by AP/Cook County Sheriff's Department) |
A second man convicted in the 1993 murders at a suburban Chicago restaurant is back in court this morning.
Today, a Cook County Criminal Court judge is expected to sentence James Degorski to a life in prison. Degorski and an accomplice were charged with killing seven people at a Brown's Chicken restaurant in Palatine in 1993. He was eligible for the death penalty, but a unanimous vote was needed to impose it. Degorski was spared by two jurors who voted against the death sentence during a hearing last month.
Juan Luna was Degorski's accomplice in the murders. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2007. In Luna's case, one juror held out against the death penalty.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
junior, Dunning // Wednesday, November 04, 2009 @ 7:33 AM
this is a total joke. do these jurors know how much it costs to keep these men in prison for the remainder of their lives? fed, clothed, and healthy? jurors should have no say in whether murderers get the DP. if a jury finds a murderer to be guilty of murder, the DP should be automatic. done and done. these yellow jurors are nothing but obstacles. they are another problem.
|
|
Eric, Ukrainian Village // Wednesday, November 04, 2009 @ 10:44 AM
In my view, one cannot put a dollar amount on a human life, even that of a mass murderer.
|
|
Christian, South Loop // Wednesday, November 04, 2009 @ 4:07 PM
I agree with Eric. A life is a life. Besides the fact that there are those wrongly accused (and later released by DNA or confession by another individual years later) I don't believe anyone has the right to put another to death. It is wrong it doesn't matter who is on the offensive side.
|
|
Christian, South Loop // Wednesday, November 04, 2009 @ 4:15 PM
Imagine if these two men were put to death? I still don't see any way that killing is ever "good" or just. Especially in our world where there are so many mistakes and foul play.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120069519
|
|
Thagg, Highland Park // Wednesday, November 04, 2009 @ 5:04 PM
No one is being put to death in Illinois. It is far more expensive to house an inmate on death row than in general population. Until Illinois starts holding executions again, I think life without possibility of parole works just fine.
|
|
|
|
|