Comment on Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's Expression of Concerns
About Fairness in the Administration of the Death Penalty

July 3, 2001

[Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and is the author and chief Senate sponsor of the bipartisan Innocence Protection Act, a package of death penalty reforms. The bill, (S.486 and H.R.912) is cosponsored in the Senate and the House both by members of Congress who support the death penalty and by those who oppose it. The bill has 207 cosponsors in the House and 20 in the Senate.]

"In her 20 years on the Court, Justice O’Connor has been in a unique position to monitor the states’ handling of death penalty cases. Her observations are powerful and illuminating.

"She got it right by pointing out that DNA tests are only a small part of the problem and that ensuring competent legal counsel is a bigger part.

"The fact that the Court is watching this issue and is troubled by the numbers of innocent people sent to death row should challenge the Congress to offer guidance to those states that are unwilling or unable to fix their criminal justice systems.

"The Innocence Protection Act is a catalyst for state-based reforms. Momentum has been steadily building behind our bill, and Justice O’Connor’s frank assessment of these problems will add to its momentum."