Complete "Innocence Protection Act 2001" Press Kit

For immediate Release Wednesday, March 7

Contact: Laura Burstein (202) 822-5200 ext. 222

More than 100 Representatives and Senators Introduce Bi-Partisan "Innocence Protection Act 2001"

Bill Addresses Mounting Evidence of a Broken Death Penalty System

Qualified Counsel and DNA Testing Proposed as Common Sense Solutions to Protect the Innocent

---

(Capitol Hill, March 7, 2001) - Facing mounting evidence of egregious flaws in the U.S. capital punishment system, more than 100 Representatives and Senators including Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Gordon Smith (R-OR), and Susan Collins (R-ME) and Representatives William Delahunt (D-MA) and Ray LaHood (R-IL), today introduced the "Innocence Protection Act 2001."

The reintroduction of the Innocence Protection Act, first introduced in February of 2000, signals growing bi-partisan consensus that America's death penalty system is broken and reforms are urgently needed to prevent innocent people from being executed.

"I support the death penalty as the appropriate punishment for some crimes. But all responsible Americans must address the problems facing our capital punishment system." said Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR). "The ultimate tragedy would be taking the life of a person for a crime he did not commit."

Representative Delahunt (D-MA) noted, "Our criminal justice system must be fair and it must be accurate. The Innocence Protection Act offers sensible criminal justice reforms to ensure that we do everything possible to prevent wrongful convictions."

The bill offers a range of common sense solutions. The centerpiece of the Innocence Protection Act is a strong measure encouraging states to provide qualified and experienced lawyers to all defendants facing the death penalty. The bill also affords greater access to DNA testing by convicted offenders.

"Perhaps the most critical problem in the administration of our capital punishment laws is the failure of some states to provide competent defense counsel in death penalty cases," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). "Defendants too often find their lives placed in the hands of lawyers who are at best inexperienced and at worst hopelessly incompetent. The results are tragically predictable."

Recent studies, such as the landmark Columbia Law School Study, "A Broken System," have found that inadequate representation - including lack of standards and resources - is the most common reason for the reversal of death sentence convictions. Public opinion polls have shown overwhelming support for changes in the capital punishment system, and that the greatest concern Americans have about the system is the quality of representation for those facing the death penalty.

"I believe that the highest purpose of the U.S. Congress must be to defend and protect the ideal of equal justice for all," said Senator Smith. "The Innocence Protection Act will help to achieve that goal by employing our most advanced scientific knowledge and by requiring competent legal counsel in capital cases. Most importantly, the Innocence Protection Act accomplishes this without weakening law enforcement's ability to capture, try, and if necessary, execute those who are truly guilty."

To ensure that the process is more fair, and especially to safeguard against further wrongful convictions, the Innocence Protection Act proposes the following:

• Ensuring Competent Counsel - Litigating capital punishment cases is unpopular, unprofitable work in many states. Therefore lawyers appointed to represent capital defendants are sometimes inexperienced, overworked, or simply incompetent. The Innocence Protection Act would establish standards for appointing lawyers in capital cases and provide funding to help states implement those standards. Non-complying states would lose some federal prison grant funding and forfeit certain procedural advantages in federal habeas corpus proceedings.

• DNA Testing - Sophisticated new forensic technologies make it possible to definitively prove or disprove innocence in hundreds of cases where genetic evidence, such as blood, semen or tissue samples from the crime scene, has been preserved. Unfortunately, various antiquated legal procedures are preventing this science from being fully utilized.

  While ten death row inmates and dozens of other prisoners have been exonerated as a result of DNA testing since 1993, the convicted still must overcome major legal hurdles to obtain a DNA test. The Innocence Protection Act would guarantee that all inmates have access to DNA testing, and an opportunity to present the testing results in court. The bill would prohibit the government from destroying such material without 180 days notice, during which time the person incarcerated can request DNA testing.

• Jury Instructions About Alternatives to Death Sentences - Polls show that Americans are less likely to support the death penalty when offered alternative sentences such as life without parole and restitution to victims' families. The bill would require, as a condition of federal truth-in-sentencing grants, that states inform juries in capital cases of all the available sentencing options.

# # #

Complete "Innocence Protection Act 2001" Press Kit