Redwood Curtain CopWatch, based in the north coast of California, is part of a larger movement of self organized CopWatch groups throughout the US. Our local efforts seek to intervene in the drastic rise of the presence, militarization, and violence of the police, and build support networks based on self-determination, caring, and concrete needs.
Illinois
Illinois Ends Death Penalty
Submitted by copwatch on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 3:32pmBy William Fisher The Public Record Mar 10th, 2011
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill Wednesday ending the death penalty in the state.
After months of nail-biting, opponents of capital punishment were breathing easier today.
Yesterday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat, took the final step in ending the death penalty and replacing it with a sentence of life without parole.
The law also requires that state funds used for the death penalty be transferred to a fund for murder victims’ services and law enforcement.
The ban on capital punishment comes after an eleven-year moratorium on executions declared by former Republican Governor George Ryan, and makes Illinois the 16th state to repeal the death penalty. It also marks the lowest number of states with the death penalty in more than thirty years.
Illinois Almost Rid of the Death Penalty
Submitted by copwatch on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 3:30pmIllinois governor to abolish death penalty
Eleven year moratorium on death penalty will officially transition into abolition after expected bill-signing today
speaks with reporters in his office at the State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois.
Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has said he supports capital punishment if it's fairly applied, but one of his Republican predecessors felt so uneasy about the state's power to mete out the ultimate punishment that he placed a moratorium on executions that has lasted for the past 11 years.
Chicago Police: Tape Us, Get Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison
Submitted by copwatch on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 2:01pmJanuary 24, 2011: Class 1 Felony of recording a conversation is just below the prison time you'd spend for murder.
Are CAMERAS the New GUNS?
Submitted by copwatch on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 2:03pmIn response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.
Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.
The legal justification for arresting the "shooter" rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which all parties must consent for a recording to be legal unless, as with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that recording is underway. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested. Most all-party-consent states also include an exception for recording in public places where "no expectation of privacy exists" (Illinois does not) but in practice this exception is not being recognized.
