Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, here is what the gentleman calls a weak crime bill. It has 66 death penalties; count them. I rise here merely to support this rule, Mr. Speaker, even though it has got too much punishment in it and not enough prevention, a novel idea to those who are trying to sound tough and get reelected, but I want to quote a letter from the Conference of Mayors sent to me by Mayor Dennis Archer in Detroit from Mayor Wellington D. Webb in Denver and Mayor Sharpe James in New Jersey, and it talks about the Racial Justice Act which may be eviscerated if we are not diligent on this floor in the coming week. Here is what they say: We believe that both supporters and opponents of the death penalty will agree that these racial disparities in the imposition of the death penalty deny African-Americans equal protection under the 14th Amendment in the Constitution.”