'Til the infallibility of human judgements shall have been proved to me, I shall demand the abolition of the penalty of death.

I shall ask for the abolition for the punishment of death until I have the infallibility of human judgment demonstrated to me.

'Til the infallibility of human judgements shall have been proved to me, I shall demand the abolition of the penalty of death.

The ditch once covered over, above it acorns shall be strewn, in order that the spot become green again, and the copse grown back thick over it, the traces of my grave may disappear from the face of the earth as I trust the memory of me shall fade out of the minds of all men save nevertheless for those few who in their goodness have loved me until the last and of whom I carry away a sweet remembrance with me to the grave."
Last Will and Testament (1806)

Never lose sight of the fact that all human felicity lies in man's imagination, and that he cannot think to attain it unless he heeds all his caprices. The most fortunate of persons is he who has the most means to satisfy his vagaries.

Because the Illinois death penalty system is arbitrary and capricious - and therefore immoral - I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death.