Illinois banned capital punishment Wednesday to avoid any irreversible wrongful convictions or discriminatory treatment.
Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn signed the abolition bill that the state legislature passed in January, making Illinois the 16th state to ban the death penalty, the New York Times reported.
Quinn supported the death penalty in the past, but worried about flaws in the system that could lead to the execution of an innocent victim, ABC News reported.
Sentences for prisoners currently on death row will be changed to life sentences without the possibility of parole.
