[Following are the comments of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., on the report on disparities in requests for the death penalty, released Tuesday by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. Leahy, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is author of the bipartisan Innocence Protection Act (S.2690), a package of death penalty reforms, cosponsored by Sens. Gordon Smith, (R-Ore.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). Reps. William Delahunt (D-Mass.) and Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) are sponsoring the House version of the bill. More information about this legislation is available at http://leahy.senate.gov, the Leahy home page.]

"This is more clear evidence that the death penalty system is broken. These findings are especially troubling, because when the machinery of justice is working unequally or not at all, the results aren't just disturbing -- they are deadly.

"This study proves once again that this is not just an Illinois problem or a Texas problem. This is a national problem. The way the death penalty is applied is a travesty, and we have no excuses not to fix it. "I am gratified that the Attorney General sees merit in the bipartisan reform package that is now before the Senate and the House. At minimum, we need reforms both for access to DNA testing and to competent counsel. How many more studies will it take until Congress acts? For lawmakers, pushing this off another year may not mean much. But for an innocent person on death row, another year is an unspeakable ordeal -- or worse."