The death penalty is not a deterrent so long as there is doubt whether it can be applied. The law I will propose would remove this doubt. The potential criminal will know that if his intended victims die, he may also die. This statute will be a part of my proposed reform of the Federal Criminal Code. However, because there is an immediate need for this sanction, I have directed Attorney General to submit a death penalty statute as a separate proposal so that the Congress can act rapidly on this single provision.
Drug abuse is still public enemy number one in America.
Let me tell you abut some of the tragic letters I have received at the White House from victims of drugs. One is from a boy 18 years old who had spent 11 months in a mental hospital trying to get rid of his drug addiction. He started with marijuana. Another is from a mother in California. Her son committed suicide.