On the Patriot Act:
provisions in the renewal of the Patriot Act would make it easier for prosecutors to win the death penalty in federal trials. They could even get a second chance if a jury deadlocked on the penalty.
On the Streamlined Procedures Act:
The Senate version of the bill (blandly called the Streamlined Procedures Act) is heading for a vote in the Judiciary Committee. Its most offensive provision would curtail the use of writs of habeas corpus, which allow plaintiffs to move death penalty cases into federal courts on constitutional grounds after state appeals are exhausted. Faced with the opposition of 49 of 50 state chief justices, along with the American Bar Assn. and numerous law enforcement and human rights organizations, supporters have already softened the Senate proposal, and compromise could further alleviate its effects.
Softer or not, however, the measure would still result in people whose guilt (or degree of guilt) is in doubt being put to death or left to rot in prison. States' protections vary widely, and many are far weaker than California's. In federal court, it is not uncommon to see cases in which prosecutors or police are suspected of hiding evidence, witness testimony is questionable, racial bias in jury selection is at issue or DNA evidence may yet be obtained.
On the death penalty itself:
Science and history are making it increasingly clear that there is no way to reconcile speedy justice and the death penalty. While Congress is trying to make executions easier, many states and the Supreme Court are working to make the system more fair — and the death penalty more rare.
... A civilized society does not risk a mistake that would take a life. Restricting the appeals process in death penalty cases simply turns back the clock to a time of greater injustice. But Americans would be just as safe, and increasingly just as satisfied, with an ultimate sentence of life in prison.
