[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 16, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S5001]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     DOUBTS ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the disclosure late 
last week that the Government had failed to share thousands of pages of 
evidence with defense attorneys in the case of Timothy McVeigh.
  Let me first say that my thoughts and prayers are with the victims 
and families who lost loved ones as a result of this horrific, cowardly 
act. My heart goes out to them. For them, this cannot help but be a 
very difficult time.
  Sadly, their ordeal has only been aggravated by the national 
spectacle surrounding McVeigh's planned execution and now this latest 
revelation of the mishandling of his case. This latest unforeseen turn 
must only add to their anger, their pain, and their grief.
  There is no question that McVeigh should be punished severely for 
this heinous crime. On that, there can be no disagreement.
  But the FBI's belated release of these thousands of documents 
highlights the fact that the Federal Government's administration of the 
death penalty, even in the most highly scrutinized of cases, is 
fallible.
  At his press conference Friday, President Bush said:

       Any time we're preparing to carry out the death penalty, we 
     have a solemn obligation to make sure that the case has been 
     handled in full accordance with all the guarantees of our 
     Constitution. The very foundations of our democracy depend on 
     our ability to assure our citizens that in all criminal 
     cases, and especially in the death penalty, defendants have 
     been treated fairly.

  I agree with President Bush.
  But if this kind of gross failure can occur in a case managed by the 
most competent, professional law enforcement agency of which we know, 
doubts must arise with regard to the Government's ability in every 
capital case ``to assure . . . that defendants have been treated 
fairly.''
  And if this kind of dereliction occurs in a case vigilantly observed 
under the television klieg lights, doubts must arise that this Nation 
has made sure that other capital defendants' cases have ``been handled 
in full accordance with all the guarantees of our Constitution.''
  And if this kind of deficiency can take place when dedicated and 
well-trained counsel have labored and diligently applied themselves to 
ensure fairness for this defendant, doubts must arise that this Nation 
is in all death penalty cases delivering the justice on which ``[t]he 
very foundations of our democracy depend.''
  To honor ``the guarantees of our Constitution,'' we must ensure the 
fairness of the entire process by which the Government applies the 
death penalty--from arraignment, to trial, to sentencing.
  And to ensure that ``defendants have been treated fairly,'' we must 
ensure equity in treatment for all defendants, regardless of where in 
the Nation they live or what the color of their skin.
  In these respects, the case of Timothy McVeigh does not present the 
Bush administration its most difficult test. For the McVeigh case lacks 
the questions of innocence, regional disparity, and discrimination that 
haunt so much of death row.
  After McVeigh's, the next scheduled Federal execution is that of Juan 
Raul Garza. Because of questions raised about regional and racial 
disparities in the Federal death penalty system, his execution was 
stayed until June 19. When he stayed the execution, President Clinton 
instructed the Justice Department to conduct a study to determine the 
causes of those regional and racial disparities.
  Observers of justice in America will await how the Justice Department 
and the President review these questions. Until these questions are 
resolved, and until we are certain of the fairness of the process, the 
Government should not execute Juan Raul Garza. These questions may 
provide the weightiest test of Attorney General Ashcroft and President 
Bush in the weeks to come.

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