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Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy
On The Ryan Commission Report
[WASHINGTON (April 15) -- Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is the chief
sponsor of the Innocence Protection Act (S. 486), a package of death
penalty reforms. The bill now has 25 cosponsors, including Sen. Gordon
Smith (R-Ore.), who is the chief Republican cosponsor. Leahy chairs
the Senate Judiciary Committee. The counterpart bipartisan House bill
(H.R. 912), introduced by Reps. William Delahunt (D-Mass.) and Ray
LaHood (R-Ill.), now is cosponsored by about half of the membership of
the U.S. House of Representatives.]
"Governor Ryan showed great courage two years ago by calling for a
moratorium on the use of the death penalty in the state of Illinois
until failures in the system could be identified and corrected. I
commend Governor Ryan for undertaking this detailed and thorough
review of the Illinois system, which includes roughly 85 specific
recommendations for reform. The results of the Ryan Commission Report
should serve as a resource - and, frankly, as a wake up call - to
other states that are considering reform of their systems of capital
punishment. I think we all know, however, that this is not just an
Illinois problem. This is a national problem that requires a national
solution. That is why we must pass the Innocence Protection Act this
year."
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