Political Quotes

“I spoke in some detail last Friday about why I will oppose the sense-of-the-Senate amendment offered by the Senator from New York. Today, let me summarize my thoughts by making two points: First, the Racial Justice Act will not put an end to capital punishment. What the act will do, is require courts to examine competent evidence that a death sentence was imposed for reasons of race, rather than--as should be the case--due to the nature of a defendant's crime. This imposes no unbearable burden on the courts. Indeed, it is something the courts have long done expertly in a wide variety of contexts, such as housing discrimination, employment discrimination, and discrimination in our schools. The act does not mandate the outcome in any case, nor does it mandate that a court must admit any or all evidence a defendant may submit. In fact, the act explicitly confers on the courts the discretion to reject evidence that is not valid or relevant. Far from preventing courts from imposing the death penalty in all cases, it simply requires courts in some cases to make one additional inquiry to ensure that race does not determine who will live and who will die. Second, it seems to me we should be willing to accept the necessary burden of ensuring that racial discrimination plays no role in determining who gets the death penalty.”