Legislation proposed to prevent domestic torture
FinalCall.com News
National News
Legislation proposed to prevent domestic tortureBy
Askia Muhammad -Senior Correspondent-
Updated Jan 31, 2012 - 9:14:23 AM
WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - On the heels of large White House
demonstrations protesting prisoner torture by U.S. forces at Guantánamo
Bay, Cuba and Bagram Air Force Base Afghanistan, several Chicago-area
Congress members have introduced legislation to outlaw torture by
domestic law enforcement authorities in this country.
Reps. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Jesse Jackson, Jr.
(D-Ill.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), and Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) joined
forces Jan. 17, the day the House of Representatives convened for its
second session of the 112th Congress, and introduced, “The Law
Enforcement Torture Prevention Act of 2012.”
There is no domestic law that pertains
directly to law enforcement as it relates to torture, according to a
statement from Rep. Davis’s office. The only related law on the books
refers to torture committed outside of the United States.
“My legislation is designed to define and
outlaw acts of torture—by individuals or groups of individuals—while
operating under the color of local, state or federal,” Rep. Davis told The Final Call.
“I must say it was inspired, of course by the
shenanigans that have occurred in Chicago, as well as other places
throughout the country—but the
Jon Burge
case and situation in Chicago where it looked as though Jon Burge was
going to escape because the statute of limitations had run out on the
allegations that he had engaged in and perpetrated torture as a way of
extracting confessions and information from individuals who had been
accused of crimes,” Mr. Davis continued.
Interestingly, Mr. Davis pointed out, the
Chicago City Council is considering a local ordinance which would make
the city a “torture free zone,” which would declare that torture by
anyone, including law enforcement officials would be outlawed.
Similarly, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) has
already proposed a bill—H.R. 2189, the “Death in Custody Reporting Act
of 2011”—that would require states to report on a quarterly basis
information on the death of any person who is detained, under arrest, in
the process of being arrested, en route to incarceration, or
incarcerated.
Mr. Davis held a briefing so that experts,
attorneys, and victims could inform Congress members, their staffs, and
members of the public about the atrocities that take place inside
prisons, including rape, particularly the rape of prisoners by guards,
especially women.
Darrell Cannon for example, participated in the briefing. Mr. Cannon is a
survivor who was personally tortured by Jon Burge, the former police
commander who was accused of torturing more than 200 criminal suspects
between 1972 and 1991. Mr. Burge was fired from the police department in
1993 after the accusations surfaced. In 2002 he was investigated, but
it wasn’t until 2010 that Mr. Burge was convicted of perjury and
obstruction of justice.
John Gaskins is another torture survivor who
participated in the congressional briefing. Mr. Gaskins served 14 years
in Virginia prisons during which time his fingers were broken multiple
times. He was kept in 4-point restraints for days at a time, beaten, and
attacked by dogs, according to Mr. Davis’s office.
Torture “is very widespread because in many
instances law enforcement agencies have used—and that’s not to say that
they all are doing it; that’s not to suggest that it’s done all of the
time; that’s not to suggest that it’s as common as arresting people—but I
think all of us know that it has been used, and is used in some
instances rather routinely, to try and convince people to confess to
crimes for which they have been accused,” Mr. Davis emphasized. “It’s
far too much. It’s far too much.”
Others witnesses who were scheduled to testify
at the briefing arranged by Mr. Davis included: Flint Taylor, Peoples
Law Office; Brigitt Keller, NLG National Police Accountability Project;
Lamar Bailey and Bonnie Kerness, American Friends Services Committee;
Cynthia Totten, Just Detention International; and Emily Tucker,
Detention Watch Network.
“I think we’re (now) getting some great attention, and attention of course, is often a prelude to action,” said Mr. Davis.