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“DOUBTS ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S5001 on May 16, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
DOUBTS ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the disclosure late last week that the Government had failed to share thousands of pages of evidence with defense attorneys in the case of Timothy McVeigh.
Let me first say that my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families who lost loved ones as a result of this horrific, cowardly act. My heart goes out to them. For them, this cannot help but be a very difficult time.
Sadly, their ordeal has only been aggravated by the national spectacle surrounding McVeigh's planned execution and now this latest revelation of the mishandling of his case. This latest unforeseen turn must only add to their anger, their pain, and their grief.
There is no question that McVeigh should be punished severely for this heinous crime. On that, there can be no disagreement.
But the FBI's belated release of these thousands of documents highlights the fact that the Federal Government's administration of the death penalty, even in the most highly scrutinized of cases, is fallible.
At his press conference Friday, President Bush said:
Any time we're preparing to carry out the death penalty, we have a solemn obligation to make sure that the case has been handled in full accordance with all the guarantees of our Constitution. The very foundations of our democracy depend on our ability to assure our citizens that in all criminal cases, and especially in the death penalty, defendants have been treated fairly.
I agree with President Bush.
But if this kind of gross failure can occur in a case managed by the most competent, professional law enforcement agency of which we know, doubts must arise with regard to the Government's ability in every capital case ``to assure . . . that defendants have been treated fairly.''
And if this kind of dereliction occurs in a case vigilantly observed under the television klieg lights, doubts must arise that this Nation has made sure that other capital defendants' cases have ``been handled in full accordance with all the guarantees of our Constitution.''
And if this kind of deficiency can take place when dedicated and well-trained counsel have labored and diligently applied themselves to ensure fairness for this defendant, doubts must arise that this Nation is in all death penalty cases delivering the justice on which ``[t]he very foundations of our democracy depend.''
To honor ``the guarantees of our Constitution,'' we must ensure the fairness of the entire process by which the Government applies the death penalty--from arraignment, to trial, to sentencing.
And to ensure that ``defendants have been treated fairly,'' we must ensure equity in treatment for all defendants, regardless of where in the Nation they live or what the color of their skin.
In these respects, the case of Timothy McVeigh does not present the Bush administration its most difficult test. For the McVeigh case lacks the questions of innocence, regional disparity, and discrimination that haunt so much of death row.
After McVeigh's, the next scheduled Federal execution is that of Juan Raul Garza. Because of questions raised about regional and racial disparities in the Federal death penalty system, his execution was stayed until June 19. When he stayed the execution, President Clinton instructed the Justice Department to conduct a study to determine the causes of those regional and racial disparities.
Observers of justice in America will await how the Justice Department and the President review these questions. Until these questions are resolved, and until we are certain of the fairness of the process, the Government should not execute Juan Raul Garza. These questions may provide the weightiest test of Attorney General Ashcroft and President Bush in the weeks to come.
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