Dear Senator:
On behalf of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation's oldest and largest civil and human rights coalition representing people of color, women, children, older Americans, persons with disabilities, gays and lesbians, major religious organizations, labor unions, and civil and human rights groups, we write to urge your support for the Innocence Protection Act of 2001 (S.486).
The LCCR has a longstanding policy in opposition to the death penalty. However, we strongly believe that the Innocence Protection Act is a necessary step in preserving the rights of persons accused of capital offenses.
Capital cases present unique challenges to our judicial system. The stakes involve matters of life and death and thus are higher than in other criminal trials. As a result, the legal issues are often more complex. It is our strong view that when the government seeks a death sentence, it must afford the defendant every procedural safeguard to assure the fairness and reliability of the process. The flaws in our nation's capital punishment system are clear: more than 100 innocent people on death row have been exonerated and 68% of all death penalty appeals are reversed due to serious error.
The Innocence Protection Act seeks to improve the administration of justice by ensuring the availability of post-conviction DNA testing in appropriate cases; currently, many defendants are denied the opportunity for testing or are prevented from using the resulting evidence in their defense. In addition, the bill would encourage states to establish standards for the appointment of legal counsel for defendants facing the death penalty. The interests of all Americans are served if capital defendants have access to evidence that may establish innocence and if they are represented by competent lawyers.
Currently, the House version of the Innocence Protection Act (H.R. 912) has 232 cosponsors, including 171 Democrats and 61 Republicans. While this bill will not fix every problem in the administration of the death penalty, it will go a long way toward improving the fairness and reliability of capital trials, and in so doing will help restore confidence in the integrity of our criminal justice system.
We look forward to working with you and thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely,
Wade Henderson
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Hilary Shelton
NAACP
William Spriggs
National Urban League
Marisa Demeo
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Elaine R. Jones
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Nancy Zirkin
American Association of University Women
Barbara Arnwine
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
Rabbi David Saperstein
Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism Under Law
The Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar
National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA
Laura Murphy
American Civil Liberties Union
Michael Posner
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
Ralph Neas
People for the American Way
Patrisha Wright
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Gay McDougall
International Human Rights Law Group