Tim Capps

Timothy Capps was an Arabic linguist with the US Army, where he held top secret clearance in the 101st Airborne. Capps then graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Law and became a Navy JAG lawyer. He received the NYC Bar Association's Committee on Military Justice Award for Trial Advocacy, also the Navy Achievement Medal. Capps had two missions to the Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, for which he received the Southwest Asia Service Medal. He then became a public defender and also served as prosecutor in the Illinois AG's Office. Capps set up his criminal defense practice and became well-known for handling death penalty cases with innovation and tenacity. The Illinois Supreme Court invited him to serve on the committee approving lawyers as defense counsel in capital cases. Some of Capps' high-profile cases appeared in Life Magazine, Oprah Winfrey Show, Nancy Grace, CNN. After People v. Pontious, Capps was recognized as expert on false confessions and hired by the State to train death penalty defense teams. He also got the Cunningham Award for "distinguished service as a death penalty defense advocate who, in the course of performing high quality representation, has demonstrated extraordinary and tenacious commitment to the capital client's cause and whose continuing dedication and tireless advocacy is an inspiration to all defenders in the continuing struggle for fairness and justice in Illinois capital cases." In 2011, the abolition of executions bill passed the Illinois legislature, but the Governor deliberated over signing it. Capps wrote a Letter to the Editor arguing against the death penalty from his experience as prosecutor and defense counsel. To the extent his letter was influential, Capps put himself out of a job. His professional legacy includes a perfect record on death penalty cases, a not-guilty verdict by jury where evidence included a videotaped confession, and the development of original tactics still used in murder cases today.