Controversy has surrounded the use of the death penalty in the US. On Tuesday, Illinois' state senate voted to abolish the death penalty [JURIST report] in that state after the Illinois House voted to do the same [JURIST report] last Friday. It is not clear, however, whether Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will sign the bill into law. Last August, the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia [official website] heard a habeas petition from Troy Davis who was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering an off-duty Savannah, Georgia, police officer. In a rare move, the federal court heard the habeas petition after Davis had exhausted his state remedies under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act [text], but the court sided against Davis saying that he failed to prove his innocence. Law Offices of the Southern Center for Human Rights [advocacy website] Executive Director Sarah Totonchi argues [JURIST commentary] that "'Troy Davis' case illustrates that U.S. courts simply cannot provide the certainty necessary to impose an irreversible punishment; therefore the death penalty must be abolished."