Burgess Owens: “the polls are showing in New York State that the overwhelming majority of the citizens of New York think that there was…”

“the polls are showing in New York State that the overwhelming majority of the citizens of New York think that there was a miscarriage of justice in the verdict on the Amadou Diallo killing trial. Black and white together are demonstrating in the streets of New York against this outrage. Criminally negligent homicide was obvious. Forty-one bullets were fired; 19 in the body after the body was on the ground. This problem of miscarriage of justice in the criminal justice system, unfortunately, is a nationwide problem. It is not only a New York problem. In Los Angeles, the police are continuing to confess to 20 years of planting evidence on suspects and convicting people wrongly. In New Jersey, they have admitted to systemic racial profiling. Illinois has just stopped the death penalty from moving forward because 13 of 25 inmates on Death Row were found to be innocent. Two million people are in prison in this Nation. Most of them are minorities. Justice for minorities is a national issue. Justice for minorities is also an international human rights issue. We are violating human rights on a massive scale. This situation deserves the attention of the Congress of the United States.”