Petitioning Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights
By Chuck Armsbury, senior editor
"We were hijacked," wrote Mujaddid R. Muhammad
in a Razor Wire editorial for summer 2006 issue, page
13. He was referring to the Blakely/Booker Supreme Court
rulings that initially inspired hope in confined people plainly
eligible for relief under the ruling. As if to prove how "hope
is a poor friend," these individuals are routinely denied
retroactive consideration despite mountains of evidence before
the Court that thousands of federal sentences over the past 20
years have been justified by guidelines now deemed unconstitutional.
Muhammad argued that an impasse is not
acceptable under any law, that a solution is at hand, and that
retroactive application of Blakely/Booker rulings for
eligible US federal prisoners is appropriate and implied, for
example, by the American Convention on Human Rights, which provides
in Article 9:
"A heavier penalty shall not be imposed
than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offense
was committed. If subsequent to the commission of the offense
the law provides for the imposition of a lighter punishment,
the guilty person shall benefit therefrom." -- (Underlining
added - editor)
In fact, the United States Government is
signatory to Article 9 under the Convention, adopted at the Inter-American
Specialized Conference on Human Rights, San Jose, Costa Rica,
November 22, 1969. The Conference (and Convention) is part of
the Organization of American States (OAS) and has a Washington
DC address:
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,
1889 F Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20006.
Muhammad's editorial quoted David E. Johnson
who insisted, in part, that (Congress and the President) "should
be troubled and poised to act when it is known that the Constitution
has not been upheld for hundreds of thousands of prisoners now
serving unconstitutional sentences," and should by national
and international principle be allowed to "benefit"
these "guilty" people.
Thus, the idea is out there that the President
and Members of Congress should and could be brought before an
independent court of justice to explain why they have refused
or failed to act on the legal spirit and requirements of the
Blakely/Booker findings. And now that forum for justice just
could be the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Information is available online about the
Commission at
www.cidh.org/DefaultE.htm.
Here's Article 23 on "Presentation
of Petitions":
Any person or group of persons or nongovernmental
entity legally recognized in one or more of the Member States
of the OAS may submit petitions to the Commission, on their own
behalf or on behalf of third persons, concerning alleged violations
of a human right recognized in, as the case may be, the American
Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the American Convention
on Human Rights, the Additional Protocol in the Area of Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, the Protocol to Abolish the Death
Penalty, the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish
Torture, the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance
of Persons, and/or the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention,
Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women, in accordance
with their respective provisions, the Statute of the Commission,
and these Rules of Procedure.
The petitioner may designate an attorney
or other person to represent him or her before the Commission,
either in the petition itself or in another writing.
With more and more South and Central American
nations standing up to White House policies, isn't it a fine
time to petition for a show-cause hearing with a demand that
President Bush and Members of Congress answer to a Western Hemisphere
organization (OAS) -- and its human rights commission -- about
why they're ignoring easily understood requirements of the American
Convention on Human Rights -- Article 9 precisely?
Let's open up new fronts to challenge a
do-nothing polarized Congress and weak President on human rights
issues -- even if some disagree with the spirit and intent of
Article 9. If you're uncomfortable with doing nothing and with
shame for our country as world's leading jailer of seven million
in some level of custody, it's time to recognize and benefit
tens of thousands of US prisoners eligible today for relief and
release under the American Convention on Human Rights.
Petitioners: start your engines.
Backers Of LERA Hopeful For 110th Congress
By Larry Schulenberg, father of a drug
war prisoner
"Send me in, Coach." And the story goes that
the puny little guy carries the football across the goal line
and wins the game. The crowd cheers, and he's carried off the
field on the shoulders of teammates.
That's the scenario those of us at Federal Prison Policy
Project (FPPP) are praying will take place after the new
Congress convenes. In 2003, we begged for the chance to collaborate
and play with the big boys, the well-known prison reform groups,
and we convinced Rep. Bobby Scott to sponsor the bill that we
had penned: The Literacy, Education, and Rehabilitation Act (LERA).
We got into the ball game. And it's possible we'll get to carry
the ball for a touchdown.
Three years ago, the members of FPPP argued,
discussed, debated, and compromised to give birth to LERA. The
bill provides for "earned early release." When LERA
is enacted, federal prisoners will be encouraged to earn additional
"good time" by taking high school or GED classes, or
college or vocational courses. Prisoners with those degrees can
earn "good time" by teaching classes themselves. Prisoners
must maintain exemplary behavior records to receive credit toward
"earned early release."
Highlighting anticipated leadership changes
in the 110th Congress in January, 2007, Congressman Bobby Scott
of Virginia will assume the chairmanship of the House Subcommittee
on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, thereby increasing
likelihood LERA will have a hearing. Scott has been quoted as
saying that he wants to reform criminal justice laws and to reduce
costly incarceration.
Early in January 2007, FPPP will be calling
for your help as we continue the struggle to make LERA into law,
thus helping to reunite families and welcome formerly incarcerated
people back into the world.
For more online information about Federal
Prison Policy Project: www.fppp.org
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