Ever so slowly, the death penalty is being relegated to the dustbin of history.

New data (PDF) compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center shows that states executed just 46 people in 2010, down from 85 in 2000. And juries nationwide dispensed half as many death sentences in the 2000s as they did in the 1990s. "There’s just a whole lot more concern about the accuracy of the death penalty, the fairness, and even the costs -- all are contributing,” said Richard Dieter, the author of the report, in an interview with the New York Times.

Those are the very same arguments used by criminal justice reformers in Illinois, who are fighting to pass a bill (SB 3539) that would abolish the practice and redirect money the state pays in death row prosecution and defense fees to support law enforcement training and programs for the families of murder victims. Although it passed a House committee in late November, the legislation still needs to come up for a full House vote. According to a press release today, the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty will be lobbying during the remaining days of the legislative veto session in early January. "The coalition has worked hard to round up the votes needed for passage in both the House and Senate," the release states, "and feels very good about its chances going into these last few days of this General Assembly." Stay tuned ...