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American Morning

Justice Department to Argue No Intentional Racial Bias in Death Penalty Cases

Aired June 06, 2001 - 09:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, opponents of capital punishment have often called for a halt to federal executions citing racial or ethnic bias in such sentences.

But CNN has learned a new Justice Department report will challenge that argument.

CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena joins us now from Washington. She's got more on this story for us this morning -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

Well, government sources tell CNN a Justice Department report to be released as early as this afternoon will find no intentional racial or ethnic bias in handling death penalty cases. Now that conclusion rejects arguments made by capital punishment opponents who called on President Bush earlier this week to halt federal executions because the death penalty is disproportionately imposed on minorities.

Now, in a letter to the president, opponents cited results from a preliminary Justice report saying nearly 70 percent of federal capital defendants are Black or Hispanic, and less than one-third of the states are responsible for more than half of the capital prosecutions in the federal system.

Now officials familiar with the new Justice report say it will show the decisions on seeking the death penalty result not from racial bias but from a variety of local or regional factors. Now sources tell CNN the report will show varying state laws, the decisions of individual state prosecutors and the sharply different types of serious criminal cases handled by U.S. attorneys around the country will be cited as reasons for which account for the disparities.

Now the report could be made public this afternoon. That's when Attorney General John Ashcroft will appear before the House Judiciary Committee, Leon.

HARRIS: Kelli Arena, in Washington, thanks.

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