The Vision
Spring 2003

In This Issue:

Home
AFSC Sniper Statement
Students Envision a Gentler World
Legislative Update
AFSC and ICOPA
Illinois and Maryland
Set the Stage
New Strides in Death Penalty Movement
Lyrics on Lockdown
Prisoners' Families
Organize
Beyond Rodney King
Education Not Incarceration
Prisoners' Voices
War on Terrorism Relies on Criminal Justice System
Resources
From the National Representative's Desk
Regional Updates
Staff

 

 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Sarah Craft, Washigton D.C. Policy Intern

Protestors in front of the U.S. Supreme Court
Photo: AFSC
Protestors in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as part of this past summer's seven-day annual Fast & Vigil for the Abolition of the Death Penalty.

The movement toward a national moratorium on the death penalty, including federal legislation introduced by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), lost momentum in the turmoil after the attacks, but the senator has already reintroduced his moratorium bill (S 132) and plans to reintroduce an abolition bill as well. In addition, a death penalty reform act gained broad bipartisan support in both houses of the legislature. The Innocence Protection Act (IPA) is a "package of criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing the risk that innocent persons may be executed. Most urgently, the bill would afford greater access to DNA testing by convicted offenders and help states improve the quality of legal representation in capital cases. "The IPA was cosponsored by 31 Senators and 246 Representatives; grassroots support came from the states when over 135,000 petitions that encouraged passing the IPA were sent to congress in September. Staffers from various Senate and House offices predict that the act will be reintroduced early in the current session; AFSC will continue to advocate for it. Though a small step towards abolition, the IPA will be an important tool in continuing to chip away at capital punishment in this country.

A huge victory unfolded in November with the long-awaited passing of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). After many years of fighting harmful language in the bill, advocates praised the outcome, which will attempt to provide an improved process for juvenile offenders. The bill will require the development of model health care standards for juveniles; establish programs for developing, testing, and demonstrating promising new initiatives and programs aimed at preventing and reducing juvenile delinquency; remove juveniles from jails and adult facilities; and require states to address prevention efforts and systemic efforts to reduce disproportionate minority confinement. While there is still the battle to get the needed money through appropriations, advocates are thankful that the bill was passed after years of hard work.

Joining the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, the American Bar Association, and a broad coalition of religious, mental health, and child advocacy organizations, AFSC will focus energies this spring in a campaign to end the Juvenile Death Penalty. Experts believe that if a few more states abolish the death penalty for juvenile offenders, the Supreme Court will recognize that the nation's "evolving standards of decency" render the punishment cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. AFSC will also continue to work with coalitions in Washington to advocate for and follow legislation around hate crimes, Bureau of Prisons reform, mandatory minimums, juvenile justice, civil/human/voting rights, sentencing, and the death penalty.


^ Top of page