Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Hearing on "Justice for All: Convicting the Guilty and Exonerating the Innocent"

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding today's hearing.  The debate surrounding crime and punishment has been around long before the United States.  When our Founding Fathers drafted and ratified the Constitution and the Bill of Rights 225 years ago, at the forefront of their minds was ensuring the protection of individual liberty from the power of the government.  However, the Founders did recognize that at times there are citizens that break the social contract of our civil society and need to be punished, provided they are afforded due process.  While not strictly defining what due process was required, the Constitution and years of court cases have outlined that process which has worked to ensure a baseline set of standards at both the state and federal level for criminal prosecutions.

Over time, these baseline procedures have been supplemented with statutory law, model rules, court rules, and standards of professional responsibility that are designed to ensure the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice.  Unfortunately, despite the adherence to the Constitution, laws, regulations, rules, and procedures, there is the possibility that an innocent person could be afforded all this due process yet still be convicted.  Mr. Haynesworth is here today after spending 27 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.  In December he was declared an innocent man by the Virginia Court of Appeals.  His case presents us with a personal example of why we must continue to ask questions about the criminal justice system and not become complacent.

Cases like Mr. Hayensworth's make us realize that no system involving humans is perfect.  This is a sad, unfortunate and emotional reality that we must recognize.  However, we must also examine the issue in an informed way that doesn't threaten to destabilize the entire criminal justice system.

Chief among the issues to discuss today is the question of how many innocent men and women may have been convicted over the years and how do we effectively review those cases, correct injustices, and apply what we learn so those injustices are not repeated.  This is not an easy task.  So, the question becomes - how do we determine which cases should be reviewed and how do we allocate the limited resources of the government to review these cases?

It is important to note that there is a real discrepancy in the number of individuals in prison who are actually innocent.  For example, some argue that cases where truly innocent individuals were exonerated are just the tip of the iceberg.  However, others argue that the number of true exonerations is small because many of the statistics on exonerations include cases where convictions were overturned on procedural grounds, even though the individual was not found factually innocent.  Furthermore, they argue that the number of exonerations is going down each year as technological advances, such as DNA testing, eliminate many wrongful convictions from even occurring because DNA testing is being routinely used to prove factual innocence earlier in the investigative process.  Getting a better understanding of how many cases are out there will not only inform us about whether reforms are needed, but also what types of reforms would provide the best help.

Further, we need to be cognizant of the fact that in addition to the federal criminal justice system, there are fifty different state justice systems each with their own constitutions, laws, rules, regulations, and procedures.  As Justice Jackson, who was then-Attorney General Jackson, said in his famous speech The Federal Prosecutor, "[O]utside of federal law each locality has the right under our system of government to fix its own standards of law enforcement and morals."  This statement is particularly important today given the current fiscal situation the federal government faces.  We do not have the resources at the federal level to provide funding to states to review every single criminal case after each case has exhausted all appellate remedies.  Nor, should we interfere in the day-to-day intricacies of state criminal justice systems.

As written testimony submitted by Judge Hervey points out, the state of Texas, via the Court of Criminal Appeals has established the Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit to review their criminal justice system and propose reforms where needed.  As states are already undertaking this effort on their own, our role in Congress should be to examine the federal criminal justice system and not to reform every state system.  We should not go down a path of attempting to correct problems in state criminal justice systems.  Instead, as the recent report on prosecutorial misconduct in the Ted Stevens case points out, we should expend our limited resources ensuring that the federal criminal justice system works as it should.

That said, we have a panel of witnesses here today to discuss this important topic and I look forward to their testimony.  Thank you.

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE , IL (03/21/2012)(readMedia)-- There may not be one perfect Guardsman in the United States, but there is one Illinois Guardsman who was recognized as the best noncommissioned officer (NCO) in the country by the National Guard Bureau.

Illinois Air National Guardsman Tech. Sgt. Jacob Curtis of Fairview Heights, with the 126th Security Forces Squadron at Scott Air Force Base was recently named the 2011 NCO of the Year for the entire National Guard.

Curtis discovered he won this award March 16 with a direct phone call from Maj . Gen. Willaim L. Enyart of Belleville, the Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard, who congratulated him on his nationally recognized award.

"It was so surreal at first," said Curtis. "It felt like my head was floating."

He won the highest national achievement the National Guard has to offer and now is in the running to be one of 12 Air Force-wide Outstanding Airmen of the Year.

Curtis won the NCO of the Quarter, third quarter 2011, Squadron NCO of the Year in 2008 and 2011, Mission Support Group NCO of the Year 2011, 126th Wing NCO of the Year 2011, and finally NCO of the year for the Air National Guard 2011.

"Technical Sgt. Jacob Curtis is a gifted and giving professional and is most deserving of this crowning achievement," said Col. Peter Nezamis of Belleville, commander of the 126th Air Refueling Wing at Scott Air Force Base. "Technical Sgt. Curtis and his family have endured long and painful separations countless times in support of overseas operations. I couldn't be more pleased with the honor of having Tech. Sgt. Curtis and his family represent the 126th Air Refueling Wing as an Air National Guard Outstanding Noncommissioned Officer of the Year."

Curtis is the noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of the plans section for the Illinois Air National Guard's 126th Security Forces Squadron. He is also the information security officer and client support administrator, all while performing his primary job as a security forces officer.

"He is a go-getter," said Tech. Sgt. Salvador Silva of Belleville, the 126th Security Forces' acting first sergeant. "He wants to be a part of everything and always wants more responsibility; this shows in his job here, and with his level of education."

Curtis grew up a military child. His father James retired as a lieutenant colonel at Scott AFB and has called southern Illinois home since he was 15. He attended high school in O'Fallon.

Staff Sgt. Steven J. Ask of Shiloh, NCOIC of combat arms for the 126th has known Curtis since high school, and now serves in the same unit with him.

"I've really gotten to know him since joining the unit," said Ask. "He is one of the first people I call if I need something here, and one of the few people I feel I can talk to about anything. His work ethic is above and beyond most other peoples. He completely looks after others, his troops, his friends, even if he didn't know the person he would look out for them."

Perhaps this quality might best be justified from an event that took place on Curtis' recent deployment to Afghanistan.

While serving as the battle NCO at the Joint Defense Operations Center at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, a nearby building was hit by indirect enemy rocket fire. The blast killed two local nationals and wounded three. In addition, two Airmen were also injured.

Noticing the closest Airmen to the blast had to retain security along the base's wall to guard against a follow up attack, Curtis sprang into action. He was among the first to reach the building and found one of the wounded Airman. The Airman had a broken leg that had lacerated his femoral artery.

Curtis administered aid by tying a tourniquet around the downed Airman's leg to help stop the bleeding, and waited to help carry him out until emergency medical technicians arrived. He was awarded a certificate of appreciation for his actions that day.

Curtis insists his entire unit should receive this award and that he just embodies his unit's commitment to excellence. And, although it may be true there are many great Airmen like Curtis, he has more than proven himself for this award to his peers, his friends and his superiors.

"We are all extremely proud of him," said Ask. "Having him here serves as an example of what a person in the Guard can achieve and he inspires us to strive for that level of achievement."

Curtis said he looks forward to his career and new challenges.

"I hope to continue on my career path and try to stay at this level of achievement. I'm at the top right now so it'll be a challenge, but a challenge I'm definitely looking forward to taking on," he said.

SPRINGFIELD - March 21, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today released a statement regarding the Illinois House of Representatives passing House Bill 3810, which would abolish the troubled General Assembly Scholarship program.

"I applaud the members of the House for voting to end the legislative scholarship program. As I have repeatedly advocated in the past, scholarships - paid for by Illinois taxpayers- should be awarded only to those with merit who are in true financial need.

"I urge the Senate to pass this legislation swiftly."

Washington, DC - Congressman Bobby Schilling (IL-17) released the following statement in support of H.R. 9, the Small Business Tax Cut Act, which he cosponsored when it was introduced today.  The bill grants a 20 percent tax cut to small businesses with less than 500 employees:

"As a small business owner, I know firsthand the challenges of creating jobs and meeting a payroll in the face of overwhelming government regulations, paperwork, and uncertainty.  I came to Washington to help end this uncertainty, remove barriers to private-sector job creation, and make it easier for fellow small business owners to grow their  businesses and create jobs.  

"This bill will allow job creators to keep more of their money, invest it in their businesses, and retain and create more jobs so families can more easily put food on the table and gas in the car.  We all want to see fundamental tax reform, bring down tax rates, broaden the base, and close loopholes, but this is an opportunity for us to work together and help small businesses right now.  I hope folks in the Senate and the President will work with us on advancing this pro-jobs, pro-growth policy."

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