The Republicans' professed goal of achieving fairness and impartiality is a sham. The death penalty is currently imposed in a racially discriminatory manner. By limiting habeas challenges by death row inmates, and requiring jurors to impose the death penalty upon a simple finding of more aggravating than mitigating factors, without regard to mercy and compassion, we will escalate, not reduce this disparity. The provisions pertaining to aliens amount to ill-disguised racism.
Stripping the 1994 Crime Control Act of all prevention funding will further target the poor and minorities. It is not an informed mind which believes that providing funds to build more prisons, to hire more police, and to monitor school grounds, while prohibiting expenditures on social programs and alternative correctional facilities, will result in a reduction of violent crime.
Most of the provisons of the ill-conceived bills passed the House:
In summary, the Take Back Our Streets Act provisions that passed the House were those curtailing the exclusionary rule to allow the admission of evidence seized in warrantless searches if the officer acted in "good faith;" imposing severe restrictions on habeas corpus petitions; eliminating all drug prevention funding and the establishment of drug courts included in last year's crime bill (Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994); mandating restitution for direct and indirect victims of crime, regardless of the offender's ability to pay; restricting prisoner lawsuits; and authorizing $ 10 billion dollars for building more prisons to house violent offenders, while disallowing funds to build alternative correctional facilities.
Not to be outdone, Sens. Robert Dole (R.-KS) and Orrin Hatch (R.-UT) introduced their version of T.B.O.S.A., S.3, in the Senate.
Among the low points of S. 3 are: the abolishment of the Fourth Amendment Exclusionary Rule and the creation in its stead of a tort claim with a cap of $ 30,000 in almost all cases; the almost complete evisceration of habeas relief; an increase in mandatory minimum offenses; the complete exemption of federal prosecutors from ethical rules other than those adopted by the Attorney General, and allowance of contact by federal prosecutors and agents with opposing parties known to be represented by counsel; the creation of a new obstruction of justice offense for attorneys; the shifting of the burden of proof in cases involving an alleged involuntary or coerced confession, from the prosecution to the defendant; further restrictions on the application of the mandatory minimum safety valve; and the mandatory treatment of juveniles 13 and over charged with violent crimes as adults (with no opt-out provisions for Native Americans on reservations).
NACDL had an even better name for the anti-terrorism proposals introduced that year:
NACDL has suggested in its written statement [to Congress]that a more appropriate name for the anti-terrorism proposals would be the McCarthyism, Korematsu and Star Chamber Renewal Act. All of these proposals contain massive assaults on the Bill of Rights, and would inflict more damage on constitutionally protected liberties than any other legislation in recent memory.
Happily, despite overwhelming approval by the House, not all of the provisions of the Contract became law. By early 1996, some Second Amendment and other libertarian and conservative groups joined forces with liberals and defense lawyers. Provisions like the good faith exeception for warrantless searches died a just death.
The House managed to pass five new crime bills: providing for mandatory restitution to crime victims; further limiting the exclusionary rule to allow a "good-faith" exception for warrantless search and seizures; limiting death penalty appeals; increasing penalties for child pornography; and providing "block grants" for community police officers. The Senate has passed only three of the bills: one increasing penalties for child pornography; one regarding the block grants for police officers; and, on December 22, a version of the House bill requiring mandatory victim restitution (but, under the Senate's amendment, a federal judge may forego issuing a victim restitution order in "extraordinary circumstances").
The police block grants would have eliminated funding for the 100,000 "cops on the beat" provision in the 1994 Crime Act. To the surpise of no one, they were vetoed by President Clinton.
This brings the total number of 1995 fully enacted criminal justice bills contained in the Taking Back Our Streets Act (House) and S. 3 (Senate) to a grand total of one (increasing child pornography penalties).
Now, ten years later, Tom DeLay compares the 1994 Contract on America not only to the Magna Carta, but also to the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, calling it one of the "great documents of freedom."
What planet is he living on?
