Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 8, 1995 TAG: 9506080090
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The legislation, passed by a bipartisan vote of 91-8, includes nearly all of the major recommendations made by Clinton after the April 19 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City to strengthen the government's powers to thwart, investigate and punish terrorist acts at home and abroad.
``This legislation will give law enforcement the tools it needs to do everything possible to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again,'' the president said. ``It will also help us prosecute and punish terrorists more effectively. I urge the House to do its part and get a bill on my desk without delay.''
The House plans to begin action a similar measure next week, virtually ensuring enactment of the bill, probably this summer. The House also has approved legislation to restrict death-row appeals, and sources said it was likely to agree to its inclusion in the anti-terrorism bill. At the insistence of Republicans, Clinton's anti-terrorism proposals were broadened to include the GOP's long-sought goal of sharply curtailing the habeas corpus appeals under which state-imposed death sentences can be challenged in federal court.
The bill would limit most death-row inmates to one appeal filed within one year under time limits that would conclude most cases within two years of sentencing, ending the filing of multiple appeals that have gone on as long as 17 or 18 years. A second appeal would be allowed only under narrow circumstances, including new evidence that could not have been discovered during the first trial that shows ``clear and convincing evidence'' of innocence.
Nearly 3,000 prisoners are under death sentence nationwide, hundreds for a decade or more. Many states have imposed strict legal time limits on appeals, and the federal courts have steadily narrowed habeas access over the past dozen years without appreciably speeding up the process. The bill would have no effect on state processes that often drag on for years.
As recently as two weeks ago, Clinton opposed inclusion of the habeas provisions in the anti-terrorism legislation. But he reversed himself Monday, cutting the ground out from under Democrats resisting the move.
The legislation would ``stop the frivolous appeals that are driving people nuts,'' Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, argued during debate.
But critics contended it would trample on one of the nation's most basic guarantees of a right to fair trial. ``The perpetrators of the Oklahoma City tragedy will have triumphed if their actions prompt us to short-circuit the Constitution,'' said Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.
While Senate Republicans originally eliminated some of Clinton's anti-terrorism proposals, the Senate gradually added most of them back, including new wiretap authority, expanded use of the military and authority to put tracer elements in some explosives.
Civil liberties groups have complained the bill goes too far, although senators of both parties agreed that individual rights were protected.
Both of Virginia's senators, Republican John Warner and Democrat Charles Robb, voted for the bill.
by CNB