[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 157 (Wednesday, October 17, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H11698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1830
          THE VALUE OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, according to today's Baltimore Sun, 
there have been 240 homicides in my hometown of Baltimore City, 22 more 
deaths than this time last year. Unfortunately, many of these victims 
and their families will not have closure because of the inability of 
law enforcement to bring their killers to justice. This is due in large 
part to the fear that witnesses have in coming forward.
  Witness intimidation is a serious threat to our justice system. 
According to the National Institute of Justice, 51 percent of 
prosecutors in large jurisdictions find witness intimidation to be a 
major problem. In Baltimore City, it is estimated that witness 
intimidation occurs in 90 percent of the cases that are prosecuted.
  Madam Speaker, protecting witnesses is a core government function. It 
is standard in the Federal system, and State and local prosecutors 
should have the same tools. However, there is a great disparity between 
funding and witness services, if any, that are provided by local 
authorities and those of the Federal Witness Security Program within 
the United States Marshals Service that operates on a $40 million 
budget to assist 17,500 witnesses and their family members with gaining 
new lives, new identities, and new jobs.
  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently reported on the problems 
associated with inadequate witness protection programs. Maurice Pulley 
was shot to death in front of his home, the apparent victim of 
retaliation for agreeing to cooperate with authorities. Just three days 
prior to his death, Mr. Pulley had agreed to testify as a witnesses 
against Calvin Glover for shooting him on June 30; however, law 
enforcement was not able to offer him assistance because the witness 
program in the county was essentially terminated due to budget cuts. 
The sheriff even admitted to occasionally relying on private funding to 
relocate witnesses.
  Madam Speaker, the same week, the Denver Post told a story of Javad 
Marshall-Fields and his fiancee, who were gunned down just days before 
he was scheduled to testify against Robert Ray. In 2004, Robert Ray 
shot and killed one person and wounded two others, including Javad 
Marshall-Fields.
  A program to protect State witnesses has been in existence in 
Colorado for over 12 years; however, the budget was recently cut from 
$100,000 to $50,000. Unfortunately, it now allows for a little more 
than a bus ticket or security deposit for a new apartment.
  To make matters worse, it appears that no one told Javad that this 
program even existed, even though prosecutors filed a motion to keep 
his address and those of five other witnesses secret due to their fear 
of retribution. Why was Javad not notified of the program? His mom was 
told that it was because he did not ask.
  Madam Speaker, as I always say, there is nothing worse than a person 
not knowing what they don't know. This is why I recently teamed up with 
Baltimore City's State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy to film a public 
service announcement encouraging people in the communities to come 
forward if they have witnessed a crime, or if they have already come 
forward and feel they may need protection.
  Additionally, I have introduced H.R. 933, the Witness Security and 
Protection Act of 2007, that authorizes $270 million over the next 3 
years to enable State and local prosecutors who demonstrate a need for 
funds to protect witnesses in cases involving gangs or other violence 
to establish short-term witness protection programs. This legislation 
will assist in correcting the inequity that exists between the Federal 
and State level. I call upon my colleagues to support its enactment.
  Improving protection for State and local witnesses will move us one 
step closer to alleviating the fears and threats to prospective 
witnesses and help safeguard our communities from violence. It is time 
that we show our commitment to our constituents and the justice system, 
because without witnesses, there can be no justice.

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