[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 152 (Tuesday, November 4, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H9987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HUMAN RIGHTS IN ECUADOR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida [Ms. Brown] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to talk about 
human rights in Ecuador.
  On October 1, I traveled to Ecuador to visit several American 
prisoners who have been held for many years without even a trial. I 
made my first trip to Ecuador in April of this year, where I was 
surprised to see the horrible conditions of the prison and the chaotic 
condition that exists in the justice system.
  Ecuador is a Third World country that cannot afford decent prisons. 
Many prisoners do not even have bathrooms or food that is safe to eat. 
The justice system is incredibly corrupt. Judges and lawyers ask for 
bribes, and it is only the wealthy who can buy their way out. Almost 80 
percent of the prisoners in this country have been held on drug 
charges. Because Ecuador has some of the strictest drug laws in the 
world, I have been told by several officials that this policy is a 
result of pressure from the United States.
  I firmly believe that we need to be tough on crime. But the problem 
in Ecuador is that the drug laws are so sophisticated that you have to 
have a good functional justice system to administer these laws. Ecuador 
does not. There is no computers in the courtroom. It takes months 
before the police even let the courts know that someone has been 
arrested. And then you can sit in jail for years before anyone 
acknowledges you.
  The problem is that when, and if, the people go to trial, more than 
60 percent of them are found innocent. Let me repeat this. Sixty 
percent of those people are found innocent. This is a travesty. And in 
this system, there are almost 60 Americans. But there has been 
progress. The condemnation of international attention and visits by 
Members of Congress in this part of the country has shed light on the 
situation. I am proud today that since April, Ecuador has released more 
than 800 Ecuadorean prisoners who were trapped in this unjust system.
  One of those prisoners was an American who was released last month 
after my visit. I spoke about this woman when I came to the floor in 
May to talk about the problems of this horrible system. Her name is 
Sandra Chase. She is a 53-year-old woman who suffers a terrible 
circulatory disease. She was arrested in December 1995 during her first 
trip out of this country. It took almost 18 months for the police to 
take her deposition. While she was in jail, Sandra lost her house and 
everything she owned.
  On October 7, the Ecuadorean Government gave amnesty to Sandra Chase. 
She came home October 9, and her daughter Tammi and I met her in Miami.

                              {time}  2330

  She is now with her daughter in California where she is receiving 
treatment for her disease. I cannot express how happy I was that after 
almost 2 years, Sandra Chase was able to come home to her family. What 
a terrible nightmare she suffered.
  I am submitting a letter for the Record that I have sent to the 
Minister of Government in Ecuador thanking their country for their 
release of this prisoner.
  While I am extremely grateful for the cooperation, I remain very 
concerned about another prisoner in Ecuador, Jim Williams. He has been 
held for 14 months, and the judge in this case continues to refuse all 
of the evidence presented on his behalf. This is a very good example of 
how the justice system does not work.
  Jim Williams has brought an incredible amount of attention to the 
justice system in Ecuador and has helped many lives by doing so. I 
continue to pray for Jim Williams and his family. This Sunday night, 
November 9, Jim Williams and other American prisoners in Ecuador will 
be featured on 60 Minutes. I hope that this program will show the 
American people what is happening to our neighbors in South America and 
encourage this country to take a closer look at our policy in South 
America.
  Finally, I want to thank the family of Jim Williams for their 
continued strong support. My thoughts and prayers go out to each of 
them, especially to Jim Williams' mother, who sends me cards of 
encouragement, and to Jim Williams' loving wife Robin Williams, who 
have worked campaigning for her husband each day since his arrest, and 
his brother Charlie Williams who refused to give up the fight. Robin 
and Charles are in Washington tonight working on behalf of Jim 
Williams.

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