Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Don't like 'em? Just kill 'em....

From American Progress:

JUSTICE -- LITTLE-NOTICED DEATH PENALTY EXPANSION:

The House version of the Patriot Act wants to make it easier to put people to death. Buried in the new House bill to reauthorize the USA Patriot Act are “several little-noticed provisions that would dramatically transform the federal death penalty system, allowing smaller juries to decide on executions and giving prosecutors the ability to try again if a jury deadlocks on sentencing.”

The bill would also triple the number of crimes that are eligible for the death penalty. The Senate version of the bill strips out the death penalty expansions; many Senate lawmakers charge the proposals “are extraneous to the Patriot Act and should not be approved without fuller debate.”

These House provisions are the brainchild of Rep. John Carter (R-TX), who "believes capital punishment is a deterrent for all kinds of crimes, including terrorism."

Wrap..

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