[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 53 (Thursday, May 5, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         THE RACIAL JUSTICE ACT

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, conferees will soon meet to reconcile 
differences between House- and Senate-passed versions of the crime 
bill. I am deeply troubled by a provision in the House bill that should 
not be included in the conference report: the Racial Justice Act.
  The Racial Justice Act is neither about race nor justice. Instead, it 
is designed to turn the death penalty into a legal fiction. If enacted 
into law, the Racial Justice Act will prevent the death penalty from 
ever being imposed again, whether the case is State or Federal.
  Under the Racial Justice Act, the death penalty would become a 
numbers game. If any statistics can be manipulated to show that race 
was a significant factor in the imposition of the death penalty, an 
inference will be created that race formed the basis for the sentence. 
This is a truly shocking departure from current law. Today, racial bias 
that can be shown to have affected an individual sentence is 
unconstitutional. But under the Racial Justice Act, the individual no 
longer matters. What matters is the treatment of groups through 
selectively chosen statistics regarding actions of prosecutors, varying 
juries, differently drawn jurisdictions, and reliance on the particular 
crimes used as the sample. The inference could never be rebutted 
because of the effect of time on evidence and memories, the inability 
to question jurors, and the nature of the statistics offered.
  Over the decades, the death penalty has been narrowed both by the 
type of crime and the nature of the offender for which it may be 
imposed. Jury discretion is narrowly channeled in order to insure that 
the individuals sentenced to death truly merit the death penalty, and 
also as a means of avoiding racial discrimination.
  Today, each death sentence is rigorously reviewed for adherence to 
constitutional norms, sometimes even to the point of excess. At least 
those reviews are based on the facts of the case and the culpability of 
the offender. Under the Racial Justice Act, however, Mr. President, it 
seems not to matter that the person sentenced to die has committed 
horrible acts that merit the most severe punishment.
  Our legal system believes that punishment is warranted because 
individuals choose to act the way they do. Individual responsibility 
forms the basis for imposing all punishment, including the death 
penalty. I strongly urge all conferees to reject the Racial Justice 
Act, which not only makes individual issues of guilt irrelevant, but 
would have the effect of ending the imposition of the death penalty 
nationwide.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa suggests the absence 
of a quorum. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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