By a vote of 115-0, members of the Illinois House approved a series of reforms to the state’s death penalty system. The legislative package gives the Illinois Supreme Court greater power to throw out unjust verdicts, gives defendants more access to evidence, and bars the death penalty in cases based on a single witness. The reforms are among the 80 recommendations made by the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment, formed in 2000 by former Governor George Ryan to address wrongful convictions and the state’s broken death penalty system. The unanimous vote, an override of Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s earlier veto of the reform package, makes the legislation into law immediately because the Illinois Senate overrode the Governor’s veto earlier this month. Gov. Blagojevich supported most of the reforms but had vetoed one section. He has stated that he will maintain the state’s moratorium on executions until he sees how the reforms work. (Washington Post, November 20, 2003). Read a summary of the new law. See Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment, Recent Legislative Activity, and Innocence.