Editorial: "The House's Abuse of Patriotism"

October 31, 2005

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/31/opinion/31mon1.html

On October 31, 2005 The New York Times ran an editorial concerning the debates in the Senate over extending the Patriot Act. "In the national anguish after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Congress rushed to enact a formidable antiterrorism law - the Patriot Act - that significantly crimped civil liberties... Now, with some of the act's most sweeping powers set to expire at the end of the year, the two houses of Congress face crucial negotiations, which will also take place out of public view, on their differences over how to extend and amend the law... In a breathtaking afterthought at the close of debate, the House voted to triple the number of terrorism-related crimes carrying the death penalty. The House also voted to allow judges to reduce the size of juries that decide on executions, and even to permit prosecutors to try repeatedly for a death sentence when a hung jury fails to vote for death. The radical amendment was slapped through by the Republican leadership without serious debate... The House's simplistic vote for another 'crackdown' gesture can only further sully the notion of patriotism in a renewed Patriot Act."