Date:         Sun, 31 Jul 94 16:47:19 EDT
From: Jeff Popke <EJPOPK00-AT-UKCC.uky.edu>
Subject:      RE: marx and the crime bill


Re: the crime bill and racial equity.  I find it abhorent that the crime bill
did not include what has come to be called the 'racial justice' amendment.
Briefly, this amendment would have allowed defendants in death penalty cases to
attempt to PROVE that there is racial bias in handing down death sentences.

What is really incomprehensible to me is the reasoning used by Republicans to
kill it.  It runs something like this:

a) The racial justice clause will allow defendants to contest cases by PROVING
   in a court of law that discrimination exists.

b) Virtually every Republican voted against this because "it will put an end to
 the death penalty".

Excuse me if I'm being dense, but doesn't this reasoning amount to an ADMISSION
 of the existence of discrimination?  If there were no discrimiation, then
hawks in Congress would have nothing to worry about from this amendment.

Thus, these folks would rather go on killing blacks than introduce a bill that
 would result in some small degree of racial justice.  Your government at
work.
      Jeff Popke