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May 5, 2005
Black lawmakers rip Romney’s death penalty
Jeremy Schwab
As he touted his new “scientific” death penalty bill
at the State House last week, Governor Mitt Romney assured reporters
that the bill would virtually eliminate the possibility of wrongful
convictions.
“This is a bill which in the realm of reality is foolproof,”
he said. “Of course, there are always extreme circumstances
one could envision.”
Romney did not elaborate on what “extreme circumstances”
might cause sentencing error, but he cited the safeguards built
into his bill.
The bill calls for concrete evidence such as DNA in order to sentence
someone to death and a standard of “no doubt” instead
of “beyond a reasonable doubt” for a jury to sentence
a defendant. It also calls for certified capital case lawyers
to represent defendants.
Under the bill, the death penalty could apply to those convicted
for acts of terrorism, multiple murders or murders involving torture.
The bill would allow the death penalty in cases of murder of an
attorney, law enforcement officer, judge or juror for the purpose
of obstructing an ongoing criminal investigation.
The state’s Supreme Judicial Court abolished the death penalty
in 1984.
Many African Americans oppose the death penalty, and critics note
that capital punishment has disproportionately been used to execute
black men.
When asked by reporters how his bill would prevent ethnic or racial
bias in sentencing, Romney again cited some of the bills’
safeguards.
“It applies to a very narrow set of crimes,” he said.
“Perhaps you would only have one or two [cases] in a year.
There is a higher standard of counsel. There would have to be
physical forensic evidence linking them with the crime.”
But juries, police officers and others who would investigate,
handle and weigh evidence in capital cases are still human and
have human failings such as racial prejudice, said Sen. Dianne
Wilkerson.
“I don’t believe it is possible to create an error-proof
death penalty, because mistakes people make have a lot to do with
human emotion,” she said. “Police are human. People
who promulgate and draft our criminal justice laws are human.
People who witness crimes on the street are all human beings who
are impacted by the totality of stereotypical messages and everything
we see and hear that suggests black and brown people have this
extraordinary propensity to criminal behavior to the exclusion
of all others.”
State Rep. Gloria Fox, who like Wilkerson and other black legislators
opposes Romney’s proposal, also expressed concerns about
the impartiality of juries, which would play a significant role
in Romney’s proposed death-penalty process given the “no
doubt” requirement.
“You are going to provide [defendants] with good lawyers
for their defense, but they are going to likely have an all-white
jury,” she said.
Romney asserted that instituting the death penalty for certain
crimes would act as a deterrent to would-be criminals.
“I hope people would have a higher degree of concern about
taking the life of a judge,” he said. “I hope it would
have a deterrent effect.”
But opponents questioned the efficacy of capital punishment as
a deterrent.
“[Romney] hasn’t been able to provide any statistics
that in states that have the death penalty it makes a difference,”
said Fox. “People who have testified before our Department
of Corrections hearings say it is just the opposite. Most crimes
are crimes of passion, and not pre-meditated.”
Legislators pointed out other perceived holes in Romney’s
bill. Those convicted of the same crime under Romney’s bill
could face different penalties depending on whether there is forensic
evidence that meets the standards of the bill, noted Wilkerson.
“DNA-related murders only make up a small percentage of
murders,” she said. “I can’t imagine the governor
is suggesting we have different penalties for people who leave
DNA at the scene as opposed to those who don’t.”
Rep. Byron Rushing said the bill would misdirect resources that
could be used in other public safety areas.
“Even for the people who support the death penalty, the
question is why would you spend all this time and energy for the
small number of people who could be prosecuted in the law,”
he said.
Democratic legislators say they do not believe Romney’s
bill will pass. A measure to reinstate capital punishment failed
in the House in 2001 by 34 votes.
Romney’s proposal comes as he is rumored to be considering
a run for the Republican nomination for president in 2008.
“There’s no doubt in my mind this is a grandstand
play to give himself more momentum for a run for president,”
said Fox. “There hasn’t been an outcry for the death
penalty in Massachusetts.”
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