Wednesday March 7

Lawmakers Review Death Penalty Issues

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Congressional lawmakers on both sides of the death penalty issue on Wednesday renewed their call for greater protections for defendants in capital cases.

The group of Republicans and Democrats unveiled a bill similar to one introduced last year. It widens defendants' access to DNA testing that could prove their innocence and aims to ensure they are represented by qualified attorneys.

The lawmakers tinkered with the original legislation to address concerns it would have allowed too much federal meddling in what is primarily a state issue, since the majority of death-row cases are prosecuted in state, not federal, courts.

The bill provides incentives for states to reform their justice systems. It does not call for a moratorium on executions.

``An issue like this takes a long time,'' said Rep. Ray LaHood (news - bio - voting record), R-Ill., a death-penalty supporter and one of the chief sponsors. ``The truth is, no one up here knows if it's going to pass this year. ... But we're going to stick with it until we pass it.''

Since the Supreme Court allowed states to reinstate capital punishment in 1976, 95 people have been released from death rows after their convictions were overturned. In the same period, 699 people have been executed, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Five years ago, Congress restricted the appeals process for capital cases and made it much more difficult for those facing the death penalty to introduce new evidence on appeal.

The renewed focus on the death penalty was prompted in part by a record number of executions in President Bush (news - web sites)'s home state of Texas and a moratorium on executions in Illinois imposed last year by Republican Gov. George Ryan after some death row inmates there were declared innocent.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department (news - web sites) is reviewing information about racial and geographic disparities in the federal death penalty system.

Under the legislation in Congress, federal defendants would be guaranteed access to DNA testing if they can show it has the potential to be material to their case. States would not get DNA-related federal grants unless they also widen access to the testing for state inmates.

Since only about 20 percent of cases involve the type of biological evidence needed for DNA testing, the sponsors see the issue of adequate counsel as perhaps even more important.

The legislation would establish a commission to determine what constitutes adequate legal assistance for a death row inmate. States then could tap into a $50 million grant program to establish those standards. States that do not adopt the standards would be denied federal prison-building money.

The measure would make it harder for the federal government to seek the death penalty for crimes committed in the 12 states that do not now allow executions.

The number of senators and congressmen now behind the legislation has increased since the end of last year to a total of 134, the sponsors said.

Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said the White House had not yet reviewed the legislation

07.03.01

Bill Introduced in U.S. to Reform Death Penalty

 By Sue PlemingWASHINGTON - With cases mounting in the United States of innocent people sentenced to death, a group of U.S. lawmakers reintroduced a bill on Wednesday to try to avoid wrongful executions in death penalty cases.The bill, which was sponsored by 133 Republican and Democratic lawmakers, was introduced in the Senate for the second time in a year after it become bogged down in committee in the House of Representatives and the Senate last year.Capital punishment is one of the most divisive issues in U.S. politics, but supporters and opponents of the death penalty said they supported the bill, which offers more access to DNA testing by convicted offenders and helps states to provide experienced lawyers to defendants in capital cases. When the bill was first introduced last year, there were 85 cases in which death row inmates had been exonerated after long stays in prison. A year later, this figure has jumped to 95 and of these 10 were discovered as a result of DNA testing. ``We simply do not know how many innocent people remain on death row and how many may already have been executed,'' the bill's chief sponsor, Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy (news - bio - voting record) of Vermont, told a news conference.The death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976 and since then nearly 700 people have been executed.Sophisticated new forensic technology such as DNA testing has made it possible to definitely prove or disprove innocence in hundreds of cases where genetic evidence such as blood, semen or tissue samples are used.Lawmakers said if it becomes law, the Innocence Protection Act would guarantee all inmates have access to DNA testing and would prevent the government from destroying such material without 180 days notice. The bill also says states should be required to tell juries of all available sentencing options.Republican Sen. Gordon Smith (news - bio - voting record) of Ohio said while he supported the death penalty as appropriate punishment in some crimes, it was important to reform the system so that no one was wrongly convicted.``The ultimate tragedy would be taking the life of a person for a crime he did not commit,'' Smith told reporters.Inexperienced And Incompetent LawyersLeahy said while DNA evidence was often important, one of the most critical problems was lack of competent lawyers. ''Defendants too often find their lives placed in the hands of lawyers who are at best inexperienced and at worst hopelessly incompetent. The results are tragically predictable,'' he said.A Columbia University Law School study released last year examined every capital appeal from 1973-1995 and found that more than two out of every three capital judgements reviewed by the courts was seriously flawed.The most common problem was incompetent counsel, including extreme cases where lawyers slept through portions of the trial or were high on drugs or drunk.Maine Sen. Susan Collins (news - bio - voting record), a Republican who opposes the death penalty, said it was important this bill got the support of both parties.Lawmakers conceded it could take some time to get the Innocence Protection Act through Congress but said they believed they had enough support for the bill.``No one knows if this will pass this session ... but we will stay with this one until we pass it,'' said Illinois Rep. Ray LaHood (news - bio - voting record), a Republican who supports the death penalty.Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold (news - bio - voting record), a Democrat who opposes the death penalty, said there should be a moratorium on federal executions and that a national commission should review the death penalty systems at state and local levels.Illinois governor George Ryan, a Republican, put a halt to executions in his state last year until he could be sure that ''everyone sentenced to death in Illinois is truly guilty.''In addition, the American Bar Association has called a halt to executions until each jurisdiction can be certain that it has taken steps to minimize the risk that an innocent person is put to death.