[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 88 (Tuesday, July 11, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S6404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           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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