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Washington, DC—Today, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Witness Security and Protection Grant Program Act of 2009 (H.R. 1741), legislation introduced by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) to provide assistance to state and local witness protection and assistance programs. The bill was approved by a vote of 412-11.
“Witness intimidation threatens the very fabric of our criminal justice system, allowing known murderers to walk our streets every day because we lack the evidence necessary to bring them to justice,” Congressman Cummings said. “This legislation is critical to improving protection for state and local witnesses—and for our communities.”
The legislation would provide $150 million over five years in competitive grants to state and local witness protection and assistance units for cases involving homicide, serious violent felonies, and serious drug offenses. Priority would be given 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 and funding 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.
“Each year City prosecutors address thousands of criminal cases affected by threats and intimidation. We are using every available resource and tool to build a successful prosecution so that witnesses are not silenced. Whether it is a serious child abuse case where an innocent child is threatened not to divulge a family secret or a murder case, we are doing our best to make sure that every witness feels safe so that we can achieve justice,” said Baltimore City State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy. "I am deeply grateful for Congressman Cummings' support and leadership on an issue that is so critically important to our citizens.”
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