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September 13, 2000 Feds more likely to seek death
penalty if defendant is Hispanic
HispanicVista.com WASHINGTON — The U.S.Justice Department have concluded that their own prosecutors seek the death penalty more often for
Hispanics and other minorities than whites, accounting for almost three-quarters of such cases in the last five years.
The report, titled “Survey of the Federal Death Penalty System” found that minorities are
over-represented in the federal death penalty system as both victims and defendants. Justice Department Attorney General Janet Reno, who presented the report’s findings at a briefing, said the statistics were cause
for concern, and acknowledged that a similar racial disparity exists throughout the U.S. criminal justice system.
“Sadly, the same is true of the entire criminal justice system, both state and federal. This
should be of concern to us all,” said Reno.
The report found that U.S. attorneys recommended seeking the death penalty for 183 defendants in the last five years. Of these 20 percent were white while 30 percent
were Hispanic. Almost half were black and the rest were other races and ethnic groups.
Sen. Leahy (D-VT) said, “This is more clear evidence that the death penalty system is broken. These findings are especially
troubling, because when the machinery of justice is working unequally or not at all, the results aren't just disturbing — they are deadly.” Leahy noted that the study proved once again that this is not just an
Illinois problem or a Texas problem. “This is a national problem. The way the death penalty is applied is a travesty, and we have no excuses not to fix it,” he stated. The report also found that U.S. attorneys in
almost half of the 94 federal districts were responsible for all 183 of the death penalty recommendations. In Pennsylvania, Hispanics are 3 times more likely to get a death penalty recommended than a white defendant.
The highest number of Hispanics recommended for the death penalty were in Puerto Rico with 14 defendants. No whites or blacks were reported being tried by federal prosecutors for crimes carrying a potential death
penalty.
The current federal death penalty statute has been on the books since 1988, and, with encouragement from President Bill Clinton, was expanded in 1994.
Sen. Russ Feingold, a Minnesota Democrat,
repeated his call for Clinton to suspend temporarily federal executions until an independent commission could conduct a thorough review. |
