Death penalty protesters to rally in Naperville

By Stacy St. Clair

June 27, 2000 Web posted at: 4:06 PM EDT (2006 GMT)

NAPERVILLE, Illinois (Daily Herald) -- Supporters of accused child killer Marilyn Lemak will step up their efforts to spare her life with a rally Saturday on Naperville's Riverwalk.

The event, sponsored by a local Pax Christi chapter and a group calling itself Concerned Neighbors of Marilyn Lemak, is intended to protest DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett's decision to seek the death penalty against the Naperville woman.

Organizers deliberately picked this weekend for the rally, hoping to share their message with the tens of thousands of people attending Ribfest at a nearby park. Passersby will be encouraged to fill out post cards asking Birkett to reconsider his position. They also will be asked to sign a petition backing a national moratorium on the death penalty.

"When we chose this weekend," said Rose Bagley of Pax Christi DuPage County, "we knew there would be a lot of visibility."

The rally will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Free Speech Pavilion on the downtown Riverwalk. In addition to the petition drive, folk singer David Martin will perform.

Lemak, 43, is accused of drugging and suffocating her three children - 7-year-old Nicholas, 6-year-old Emily and 3-year-old Thomas - last year in their Naperville home. Prosecutors have described the killings as an act of spite against her then-estranged husband, David.

Her defense team acknowledges she killed the children, but contends mental illness and her use of anti-depressants spurred the act. Lemak intends to use an insanity defense.

Birkett announced he would seek the death penalty against Lemak in February, saying the methodical and heinous nature of the killings warranted capital punishment. He spoke with David Lemak before announcing the decision, but has refused to divulge the details of those conversations.

Birkett repeatedly has said he will not bow to pressure from outside organizations. Prosecutors, however, could change their position before the case goes to trial.

"It's not set in stone," Birkett said. "Any case can change."

Since prosecutors announced their death penalty decision four months ago, Lemak supporters have made an issue of Birkett's religious beliefs. In press releases and public statements, they have urged Birkett as a practicing Catholic to stop seeking capital punishment against accused criminals.

"We definitely feel we need to appeal to him as a Catholic," Bagley said.

Birkett, while acknowledging his religion, declined to comment on the group's efforts to spotlight his faith. The Lemak case is expected to go trial later this fall and last four to six weeks.

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