The end of the death penalty in Illinois has some costs passed down to La Salle County taxpayers.
When the death penalty was still in place, all costs of prosecuting and defending accused murderer Keith Mackowiak were reimbursed by a state litigation fund. Now expenses like DNA testing or Mackowiak’s lawyers will be billed to La Salle County.
State’s Attorney Brian Towne says this is why he was so vocal in keeping Mackowiak death penalty eligible as long as he could. Towne got Governor Pat Quinn’s attention a few months ago when he said he wouldn’t change Mackowiak’s case to life in prison before July 1st.
Towne estimates he’s been reimbursed by the state for well over 10 thousand dollars in expenses prosecuting Mackowiak. He says defense expenses dwarf that amount.