Fifteen years after Illinois abolished the death penalty, an event at DePaul University on Friday asked a simple but urgent question: What does that decision mean today?

 The “A Beacon of Light in Darkness” event at the DePaul Student Center in Lincoln Park brought together students, faculty and community members to discuss the state’s 2011 abolition Friday, April 24. They also talked about the continued use of capital punishment in other parts of the country and their goal of outlawing the practice in every state.

A recorded message from Pope Leo XIV opened the discussion, grounding it in Catholic teachings on human dignity. “The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,” he said. 

The event featured remarks from anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean and former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, who signed the law ending capital punishment in the state. Quinn said the decision reflected not only policy concerns, but also the state’s identity as the “Land of Lincoln,” rooted in democratic ideals. 

“The people of Illinois decided this,” Quinn said, referencing the legislative process that led to abolition. “Where the Land of Lincoln, where Lincoln believed in government of the people, by the people and for the people.”

Illinois became the 16th state to abolish the death penalty in 2011 after years of debate over wrongful convictions and concerns about how the system functioned. At the time, the debate focused on 20 death row exonerations — cases that raised serious questions about whether the system could be applied fairly or accurately.

“Certainly, we are human, and we don’t want to make one mistake, let alone 20,” Quinn said.

Quinn described the abolition not as a single political decision, but the result of sustained pressure from advocates, lawmakers and residents. He emphasized the role of public input, recalling an intentional waiting period before he signed the bill.

“I deliberately wanted a period of about 60 days for people to have their chance to speak,” Quinn said.

 That process included hearing from victims’ families, legal experts and activists, with many opposing the death penalty. Quinn said the final decision reflected both moral consideration and the limits of the justice system itself.

For Prejean, those limits remain central to her decades of advocacy against capital punishment.

“There’s a pocket of deep South ex-slave states that are still killing people,” she said.

States like Texas, Alabama and Florida continue to carry out a disproportionate share of executions, reflecting the regional divide Prejean described. Texas alone has executed more than 500 people since 1976 — more than any other state — while Alabama and Florida remain among the most active in recent years, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. 

In an interview before the event, Prejean focused on how public opinion shifts when people better understand how the system operates, arguing that support for the death penalty often changes with closer exposure.

“A lot of Americans say they support the death penalty,” she said. “Bring them close. Educate them, and they’re not going to support the death penalty.”

 She also pointed to systemic inequalities in how the punishment is applied, particularly in access to legal resources.

“It’s only poor people,” Prejean said of inmates on death row. “You’re never going to have a rich person, because they’re gonna get a crackerjack lawyer.”

Her remarks connected broader questions of justice to lived realities within the legal system, a theme that carried into facilitated discussions following the event.

Emma Senanayake, a DePaul junior studying nursing, helped organize and facilitate those discussions. She said the goal was to help people see the issue as ongoing rather than historical. 

“I think this event is important,” she said. “It’s telling people that there’s hope, that change is possible.”

She said continued engagement is key as conversations around capital punishment continue beyond campus events. 

“Your voice matters,” she said. “You can still do a lot of things, and even if you’re one person, there’s still a great amount that you can do.” 

Faculty and organizers framed the anniversary as both reflection and responsibility. In his remark at the event, DePaul President Robert Manuel encouraged attendees to think about what comes next.

“Today is about remembering what was accomplished,” Manuel said. “But it’s also about asking what responsibility that history places on your shoulders today.”

Throughout the event, speakers returned to the same idea: Illinois’ decision was significant, but it was not the end of the conversation. Prejean echoed that sentiment, emphasizing education and community as central to continued reform.

Quinn emphasized grassroots organizing as the driving force behind abolition and as the path forward in other states. Reflecting on the decision, he framed it as a collective effort rather than a single political act. 

“The people made the law,” he said. “That’s really the way democracy was set up. It’s not from the top down. It’s grassroots, everyday people banding together.” 

Manuel echoed that forward looking message as the event closed.

“We’re not done,” he said.

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