Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez spent years on death row for the rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico. The problem? Forensics evidence found they weren’t guilty. Their case is among several that prompted former Illinois Governor George Ryan to put a halt to state executions nearly a decade ago. That moratorium is still in place today, even as jurors prepare to decide whether or not to sentence another man to death for Jeanine Nicarico’s murder. Jurors yesterday deemed Brian Dugan eligible for the death penalty. Whether or not Dugan deserves to die for the crime is a complicated question, one which jurors will ponder over the coming weeks.

Here’s another vexing question: Just what does a death sentence mean when executions have been stopped? Joining us from Stanford University to consider that question is Robert Weisberg, a professor at the Law School there and a scholar of criminal law.

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