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Cummings Introduces Witness Protection Legislation
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Washington, DC—Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) introduced the Witness Security and Protection Grant Program Act of 2009, H.R. 1741 to provide assistance to state and local witness protection and assistance programs.
“Witness intimidation is not just a plot line dreamed up on The Wire; the threat is very real, and the reality is horrific,” Congressman Cummings said. “Violent retaliation against witnesses and informants threatens the very fabric of our criminal justice system—and of our communities.”
The legislation would provide grants to state and local witness protection and assistance units to be used in cases involving homicide, serious violent felonies, and serious drug offenses. The grants would be awarded to prosecutors in cities with an average of at least 100 homicides per year during the most recent five-year period.
The bill would also allow state and local programs to receive technical assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, which protects witnesses as part of the Federal Witness Security Program established in 1970. For the nearly forty years this program has been in effect, not a single witness who followed security procedures was harmed while participating. Cases involving the testimony of these witnesses result in an 89 percent conviction rate.
“Every day, there is a new headline of a witness being threatened or killed—in rural and urban areas alike—and yet, our state and local witness protection programs are vastly underfunded and enjoy virtually no federal support,” Congressman Cummings said. “When law enforcement officials are forced to choose between funding investigations or funding costly but necessary witness protection services, nobody wins but the criminals.”
According to the National Institute of Justice, more than half of the prosecutors in large jurisdictions find witness intimidation to be a serious problem. Smaller jurisdictions also feel the weight of this burden, with more than 43 percent of prosecutors in these districts finding witness intimidation to be a major problem. Prosecutors nationwide estimate that witness intimidation occurs in 75 to 100 percent of the violent crimes in some gang-dominated neighborhoods.
“Known murderers continue to walk our streets every day because we lack the evidence necessary to bring them to justice,” Congressman Cummings said. “By improving the protection for state and local witnesses, we come one step closer to keeping our neighborhoods safe.”
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