[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 23, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       OMNIBUS CRIME BILL OF 1994

  (Mr. GRAMS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. Speaker, by the very nature of its name, the Omnibus 
Crime Control Act of 1994 implies that this Congress is taking 
significant steps to reduce the rate of crime in this country and deal 
swiftly and effectively with criminals. Guess again.
  Take the habeas corpus revisions, for instance. The revisions 
contained in H.R. 4092 liberalize the habeas corpus appeal process, 
effectively undermining the death penalties in the 36 States that have 
capital punishment.
  It relaxes rules on when a defendant can appeal, reverses several 
Supreme Court cases that prohibit most appeals based on changes in the 
law after the defendant's conviction; thus allowing new appeals every 
time the Supreme Court makes a new procedural ruling; and requires that 
at least two lawyers be appointed to represent the defendant at every 
stage of the process. These revisions will prolong, rather than 
curtail, the lengthy appeals process.
  Serious crime reform means getting tough on never-ending habeas 
corpus appeals, not creating loopholes that handcuff our already 
overburdened criminal justice system and keep crime weary citizens 
wondering what the heck we are doing here in Washington.

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