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“THE DEATH PENALTY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S6404 on July 11, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE DEATH PENALTY
Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, it is most unfortunate that the President has decided to delay the first federal execution in almost forty years.
Mr. Juan Garza was a vicious drug kingpin who was found guilty of three murders and sentenced to death in 1993. He was also convicted of various drug and money laundering offenses. Of course, there is no way to know how many American lives he destroyed indirectly through his extensive drug trafficking into this country. He is just the type of criminal that the Congress had in mind when we reestablished the federal death penalty in 1988.
His lawyers are not claiming he is innocent. Rather, they are making general arguments about the fairness of the death penalty, and the President is apparently sympathetic to this.
Over the weekend, the White House confirmed that the President will postpone the execution for at least 90 days and maybe until after the November elections. The reason for the administration has given is that the Justice Department is still drafting formal clemency guidelines. Mr. Garza was sentenced to death 7 years ago, and his case has been tied up in appeals ever since. The Supreme Court decided in November that it would not hear his case, and in May a judge scheduled his execution for August. The Department has had more than enough time to prepare such guidelines.
Of course, the President does not need any special death penalty guidelines to act. The President has the power to commute Mr. Garza's sentence or even pardon him if he wishes. The President should make his decision and not further delay an already extremely long process.
This is consistent with this administration's treatment of the death penalty overall. Only steadfast opponents to capital punishment can argue that it is used too often in the federal system today. Last year, my Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing that discussed the federal death penalty in some detail. After becoming Attorney General, Ms. Reno established an elaborate review process at Main Justice to consider whether a U.S. attorney may seek the death penalty. She has permitted prosecutors to seek the death penalty in less than one-third of the cases when it is available.
Also, her review permits defense attorneys to argue that she should reject the death penalty in a particular case, but it does not permit victims to argue for the death penalty. I hope the Department's new clemency rules will allow victims to participate in the process. However, victims should be allowed to encourage the Department to seek the death penalty in the first place.
The death penalty is an essential form of punishment for the most serious of crimes. Yet, it has not been carried out in the federal system for 37 years. We should not continue to delay its use. When an inmate's appeals are exhausted, as they are in this case, the President should carry out the law.
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