Political Quotes

“It is my hope that the national debate on the death penalty will continue, and that people of good conscience--both those who support the death penalty and those who oppose it--will join in our effort to make the system more fair and so reduce the risk that innocent people may be executed. The execution of Gary Graham demonstrates the need to make one simple change in America's death penalty laws: a requirement that no death sentence can be imposed unless the trial judge certifies that the evidence establishes the defendant's guilt to a certainty. Under current law, a death sentence requires first a jury's finding of guilt of a capital crime and then a jury's selection of the death penalty. In deciding both guilt and the death penalty, the jury must be persuaded beyond a reasonable doubt. That is a high standard, but it is not as high as a requirement that the trial judge certify that guilt is certain. Experience has shown that in some cases juries have been persuaded beyond a reasonable doubt to convict and vote the death penalty even though the defendant is innocent.”