With the possible exception of one execution in 1997, no democracy other than the United States executes offenders who are mentally retarded. There also is a strong international consensus against the execution of juveniles who commit capital offenses when they are under the age of 18. We believe the United States should join the other democracies and ban both practices. The subject of today's hearing is critical to our criminal justice system and to America's lawyers. Rightly or wrongly, the public generally assesses our legal system and hence our legal profession by its perception of how well the criminal justice system is functioning.
Capital cases are the most visible and charged of all criminal cases.
And frankly our legal system is not doing a good job handling them today. On behalf of the American Bar Association, I appreciate this opportunity to appear before the Committee to participate in this important hearing. I will be glad to answer any questions the Committee may have concerning the Association's recommendations.