Jack Brooks: “Mr. Chairman, I believe the procedures we have in the bill before us are appropriate, workable procedures for carrying…”

“Mr. Chairman, I believe the procedures we have in the bill before us are appropriate, workable procedures for carrying out the death penalty. For those who believe that capital punishment has a place in our criminal justice system--and I certainly do--it is incumbent that there are procedures crafted to ensure that justice is done. Justice requires the procedures to be constitutionally sound--the bill's provisions achieve precisely that. They appropriately channel a sentencing jury's authority, so that we can separate out those killers who deserve the harshest of punishments, and provide for life without any possibility of release for others convicted of murder. They are tough, but they are fair. Mr. Gekas' amendment upsets the careful balance that is necessary to fully and fairly implement the death penalty. By double counting an offense as an aggravating factor, the Gekas amendment introduces a harmful degree of arbitrariness; it eliminates the jury's ability to impose life without the possibility of release if they decide against death. Moreover, the Gekas amendment mandates that a death sentence be imposed in certain circumstances--thus taking away the duly selected jury's discretion.”