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Source | CONUS Archive |
---|---|
Record ID | 341750 |
Story Slug | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL / US DEATH PENALTY / NEWS CONFERENCE (1994) |
Location | WASHINGTON, DC |
Format | TVD |
Date | 1/13/1994 |
Archive Time | 5:56 |
TRT | 4:17 |
Supers | 1) MARY GRAY, CHAIR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA2) PATRICIA RENGEL, CHIEF LEGAL COUNCIL, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, WASHINGTON OFFICE |
Video Description | NEWS CONFERENCE |
Script | (SUGGESTED TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO)President Clinton has made human rights the centerpiece of United States foreign policy, as we can see in the current controversy concerning the connection between the human rights situation in China, and its status as a most favored nation.Unknown Speaker 0:16 However, at the same time, the United States and as to the lack of deterrent effect, is simply being ignored. The use of the death penalty has no justification in places the United States and the regs worst human rights violators, and it should be ended, we hope that President Clinton will appoint a commission that will seriously consider this matter, we are confident that any reasonable rational examination of it will lead to the exam the abolition of the death penalty.Unknown Speaker 0:49 Government starts applying the death penalty. Another major issue, I think, at the federal level, is the ban on juvenile executions, which is required under international law and is obviously not met within the United States. One hopeful sign within the Senate debate this year was an attempt by Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, to in fact ban executions of juvenile offenders at the state level. Unfortunately, his amendment was not successful. But it was I think, the one hopeful sign in the Senate debate on the crime bill that there are certain senators almost 40, a number who are at least sensitive to this most egregious practice where the United States stands with only five other countries in executing juvenile executions. And that's a very limited club of rather repressive governments around Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Pakistan.Unknown Speaker 1:47 One in terms of who ends up on death row, and that was the issue that Mary gray mentioned, the right to counsel, many of the errors, the lack of investigation, the lack of bringing forth evidence in a timely manner, is due at the trial level to inadequacy or in competency of counsel. And we rely on the habeas system to make corrections in those inadequacies to restrict habeas without providing for adequate and competent counsel is to enact a reform that is going to only have disastrous consequences when it comes to the lives of, of the people who are accused.Unknown Speaker 2:30 The have adopted a particular state and addressed their concerns to the governor of a particular state.Unknown Speaker 2:37 The only difference is that we've made that a specific request the president times are concerned that we see in the national embassy operates, it's dealing with the case where there wereUnknown Speaker 2:50 people who were killed. So there have been there are documented in this report and 20 more resources to lay out very clearly exactly what the problems are. We think thatUnknown Speaker 3:01 any examination that really looks at things will show that the death penalty as it's now applied is unconstitutional. After all, when the Supreme Court found the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972, was because of the arbitrary and capricious way it was being applied in any examination of the evidence, since the death penalty has been restored, would show that its application is most certainly arbitrary and capricious. So we think that a presidential commission would give force to what we're able to say in a way that we are unable to do in spite of the efforts of our volunteers.Unknown Speaker 3:39 He has theoretical case isn't ever justified? No. We believe there are alternatives whichUnknown Speaker 3:47 meet international human rights standards and still have the same effect. We can't see any reason for for death penalty, other than someone's notion of vengeance. It's not a deterrent. It's extremely costly.Unknown Speaker 4:02 And then, obviously, it's not applied in any kind of uniform and fair fashion, but it doesn't matterUnknown Speaker 4:10 how bad the crime is, or how convinced one is of the person's guilt. We still believe it's a violation of human rights. |
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