Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold on Abolishing the Death Penalty Under Federal Law January 24, 2005 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I introduce the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2005. This bill would abolish the death penalty at the Federal level. It would put an immediate halt to executions and forbid the imposition of the death penalty as a sentence for violations of Federal law. Since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court, there have been almost 1,000 executions across the country, including three at the Federal level. At the same time, over 100 people on death row were later found innocent and released from death row. Exonerated inmates are not only removed from death row, but they are usually released from prison altogether. Apparently, these people never should have been convicted in the first place. While death penalty proponents claim that the death penalty is fair, efficient, and a deterrent, the fact remains that our criminal justice system has failed and has resulted in at least 117 very grave mistakes. Nine hundred and forty-four executions, and 117 exonerations in the modern death penalty era. That is an embarrassing statistic, one that should have us all questioning the use of capital punishment in this country. And we continue to learn about more cases in which our justice system has failed. Since I first introduced this bill in November of 1999, 36 death row inmates have been exonerated throughout the country, 12 since I introduced this bill in the last Congress in February 2003. Since I last introduced this bill, 115 people have been executed nationwide. How many innocents are among them? We may never know. While executions continue and the death row population grows, the national debate on the death penalty intensifies and has become even more vigorous. The number of voices joining in to express doubt about the use of capital punishment in America is growing. As evidence of the flaws in our system mounts, it has created an awareness that has not escaped the attention of the American people. Layer after layer of confidence in the death penalty system has been gradually peeling away, and the voices of those questioning its fairness are growing louder and louder. Now they can be heard from college campuses and courtrooms and podiums across the Nation, to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room, to the Supreme Court. We must not ignore them. That our modern society relies on killing as punishment is disturbing enough. Even more disturbing, however, is that our States' and Federal Government's use of the death penalty is often not consistent with principles of due process, fairness, and justice. These principles are the foundation of our criminal justice system. It is clearer than ever before that we have put innocent people on death row. In addition, statistics show that those States that have the death penalty are more likely to put people to death for killing white victims than for killing black victims. After the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976, the Federal Government first resumed death penalty prosecutions after enactment of a 1988 Federal law that provided for the death penalty for murder in the course of a drug-kingpin conspiracy. The Federal death penalty was then expanded significantly in 1994, when the omnibus crime bill allowed its use to apply to a total of some 60 Federal offenses. Since 1994, Federal prosecutions seeking the death penalty have now accelerated. A survey on the Federal death penalty system from 1988 to early 2000 was released by the U.S. Department of Justice in September 2000. That report showed troubling racial and geographic disparities in the Federal Government's administration of the death penalty. In other words, who lives and who dies in the Federal system appears to relate to the color of the defendant's skin or the region of the country where the defendant is prosecuted. Attorney General Janet Reno was so disturbed by the results of that report that she ordered a further, in-depth study of the results. Attorney General John Ashcroft pledged to continue that study, but we still await the results of that further study. The Federal Government must do all that it can to ensure that no person is ever subject to harsher penalties because of the color of the defendant's skin. I am certain that not one of my colleagues here in the Senate, not a single one, would defend racial discrimination in this ultimate punishment. The most fundamental guarantee of our Constitution is equal justice under law, and equal protection of the laws. Yet we have a system in place today that raises grave questions about whether that guarantee is being met. While the Federal death penalty system is clearly plagued by flaws, there are 38 States across our Nation that also authorize the use of capital punishment. And like the Federal system, those systems are not free from error. Five years ago, Governor George Ryan took the historic step of placing a moratorium on executions in Illinois and creating an independent, blue ribbon commission to review the State's death penalty system. The Commission conducted an extensive study of the death penalty in Illinois and released a report with 85 recommendations for reform of the death penalty system. The Commission concluded that the death penalty system is not fair, and that the risk of executing the innocent is alarmingly real. Governor Ryan later pardoned four death row inmates and commuted the sentences of all remaining Illinois death row inmates to life in prison before he left office in January 2003: Illinois is not alone. Four years ago, then Governor Parris Glendening learned of suspected racial disparities in the administration of the death penalty in Maryland. Governor Glendening did not look the other way. He commissioned the University of Maryland to conduct the most exhaustive study of Maryland's application of the death penalty in history. Then faced with the rapid approach of a scheduled execution, Governor Glendening acknowledged that it was unacceptable to allow executions to take place while the study he had ordered was not yet complete. So, in May 2002, he placed a moratorium on executions. Unfortunately, Governor Bob Ehrlich later lifted that moratorium and executions have resumed in Maryland. The Maryland study was released in January 2003, and the findings should startle us all. The study found that blacks accused of killing whites are simply more likely to receive a death sentence than blacks who kill blacks, or than white killers. According to the report, black offenders who kill whites are four times as likely to be sentenced to death as blacks who kill blacks, and twice as likely to get a death sentence as whites who kill whites. Maryland and Illinois are not exceptions to a rule, nor anomalies in an otherwise perfect system. In fact, since reinstatement of the modern death penalty, 81 percent of capital cases across the country have involved white victims, even though only 50 percent of murder victims are white. Nationwide, more than half of the death row inmates are African Americans or Hispanic Americans. There is evidence of racial disparities, inadequate counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, and false scientific evidence in death penalty systems across the country. While the research done in Maryland and Illinois has yielded shocking results, there are 36 other States that authorize the use of the death penalty, most of them far more frequently. Twenty of the 38 States that authorize capital punishment have executed more inmates than Maryland, and 14 of those States have carried out more executions than Illinois. So while we are closer to uncovering the unthinkable truth about the flaws in the Maryland and Illinois death penalty systems, there are 36 other States with systems that are most likely plagued with the same flaws. And yet, the killing continues. At the beginning of 2005, I cannot help but believe that our progress has been tarnished by our Nation's not only continuing, but increasing use of the death penalty. We are a Nation that prides itself on the fundamental principles of justice, liberty, equality and due process. We are a Nation that scrutinizes the human rights records of other nations. Historically, we are one of the first nations to speak out against torture and killings by foreign governments. We should hold our own system of justice to the highest standard. Over the last few years, some prominent voices in our country have done just that. And they are not just voices of liberals, or of the faith community. They are the voices of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Reverend Pat Robertson, George Will, former FBI Director William Sessions, Republican Governor George Ryan, and Democratic Governor Parris Glendening. The voices of those questioning our application of the death penalty are growing in number, and they are growing louder. And while we examine the flaws in our death penalty system, we cannot help but note that our use of the death penalty stands in stark contrast to the majority of nations, which have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. There are now 117 countries that have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. The European Union denies membership in the alliance to those nations that use the death penalty. In fact, it passed a resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional global abolition of the death penalty, and it specifically called on all States within the United States to abolish the death penalty. This is significant because it reflects the unanimous view of a group of nations with which the United States enjoys the closest of relationships and shares the deepest common values. What is even more troubling in the international context is that the United States is now one of only five countries that imposes the death penalty for crimes committed by juveniles. So, while a May 2002 Gallup poll found that 69 percent of Americans oppose the death penalty for those under the age of 18, we are one of only five nations on this earth that puts to death people who were under 18 years of age when they committed their crimes. The others are Iran, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia. In the last decade, the United States has executed more juvenile offenders than all other nations combined. These are countries that we often criticize for human rights abuses. We should remove any basis for charges that human rights violations are taking place on our own soil by halting the execution of people who were not even adults when they committed the crimes for which they were sentenced to die. No one can reasonably argue that executing child offenders is a normal or acceptable practice in the world community. And I do not think that we should be proud that the United States is the world leader in the execution of child offenders. As we begin a new year and another Congress, our society is still far from fully just. The continued use of the death penalty shames us. The penalty is at odds with our best traditions. It is wrong and it is immoral. The adage ``two wrongs do not make a right,'' applies here in the most fundamental way. Our Nation has long ago done away with other barbaric punishments like whipping and cutting off the ears of criminals. Just as our Nation did away with these punishments as contrary to our humanity and ideals, it is time to abolish the death penalty as we seek justice in this new century. And it is not just a matter of morality. The continued viability of our justice system as a truly just system that deserves the respect of our own people and the world requires that we do so. Our Nation's striving to remain the leading defender of freedom, liberty and equality demands that we do so. Abolishing the death penalty will not be an easy task. It will take patience, persistence, and courage. As we work to move forward in a rapidly changing world, let us leave this archaic practice behind. I ask my colleagues to join me in taking the first step in abolishing the death penalty in our great Nation. I also call on each State that authorizes the use of the death penalty to cease this practice. Let us step away from the culture of violence and restore fairness and integrity to our criminal justice system. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.

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