All death row inmates in Illinois pardoned - well, an American governor actually had a good idea there. It's surprising that he only forms his assessment of the American legal system and grants the pardon at the end of his term in office. Doesn't he think it would have had significantly more impact if he had done it during his term? But better late than never to spare people from the death penalty. Incidentally, Germany still has the death penalty in the state constitution of Hesse. However, it can no longer be imposed because Article 102 of the Basic Law explicitly states "The death penalty is abolished," and federal law takes precedence over state law. I seem to recall that one of the new federal states also had the death penalty in its constitution, but I think that has already been revised.
Found at tagesschau on the Internet.