Joe Cunningham: “Mr. Chairman, I just heard my good friend, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Schumer] talk about that they do not make it…”

“Mr. Chairman, I just heard my good friend, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Schumer] talk about that they do not make it up. In California, we had a judge named Rose Bird who was opposed to the death penalty and found every single thing that she could to stop the death penalty, even of those that were guilty. I have also heard the gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum] state that there are processes which, if they find new evidence, that they can bring this forward. I have heard him state it on the floor, and I also heard that the have a Governor that can take a look at the case, and so there are several mechanisms that enable, if someone is innocent, either new evidence, or the Governor, or due process, that that can be brought forward. And I agree. We did have the Alton Harris case of a person who was guilty, and I appreciate it because of the sympathy, because it does drag out a process where the guy admitted, yet we kept on going, and I understand that is not what we are talking about. But this gentleman feels that we do have a process in which someone that is innocent could bring that new evidence forward and that, if we allow the gentleman's amendment, we have got a hundred Rose Birds out there that will oppose any death penalty.”