Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago

RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF GOVERNOR RYAN'S DEATH PENALTY MORATORIUM AND CALLING FOR A MORATORIUM ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL

(Submitted by Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish Reconstruct! Federation, and UAHC)

Passed JCRC's Domestic Concerns Commission unanimously January 30, 2001, and passed full JCRC on March 12, 2001 with two abstentions:

The JCRC supports Governor Ryan's imposition of a statewide moratorium on the death penalty as well as the adoption of penalty moratorium on the federal level.
While not addressing the larger issue of the death penalty itself, we recognize that our legal system's adjudication of it is severely flawed These failings require that our Jewish community's teachings and advocacy be brought to bear on the public discussion. A death moratorium on the state level should be maintained, and on the federal level should be adopted.