http://www.campusprogress.org/tools/574 ... al-justiceTom DeLay's Guide To Criminal Justice
A potential inmate?s views on how justice should work, in his own words.
Monday, October 3, 2005
This nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard, sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth, justice and the rigorous application of the principle that no man is above the law. Now, the other road is the path of least resistance. This is where we start making exceptions to our laws based on poll numbers and spin control. This is when we pitch the law completely overboard when the mood fits us, when we ignore the facts in order to cover up the truth.
No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That?s the principle that we all hold very dear in this country.
-Rep. Tom DeLay, on the impeachment of President Clinton, October 9, 1998
Rep. Tom Delay, until recently the House Majority Leader, has long been outspoken about the criminal justice system. He?s been tough on crime, tough on the accused, enthusiastic about long prison sentences, bullish about building more prisons, and skeptical about claims of prisoners? innocence or abuse by prison authorities.
Now, Tom DeLay has entered the criminal justice system in a new role: defendant, charged with money laundering and conspiracy, and facing a potential term of five years to life in a Texas prison. To be helpful, we?ve compiled a brief dossier on Tom DeLay?s guide to criminal justice. DeLay can take a look now, and maybe print out all the materials that are hyperlinked, and everything hyperlinked from those, and so on. It should take about five years to life to read.
DeLay on resigning in the national interest ? before you?re convicted:
In August 1998, several months before the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Clinton, DeLay had already announced that Clinton was guilty and should resign: "I just think that, if the president wants to put this behind him, then he ought to do the honorable thing, and that is to resign?. We?re talking about something that?s very dangerous, when the American people have lost the trust and respect of the president of the United States?. If he?s lied ? then how can he stand before the American people and the American people trust what he has to say."
So it?s obvious that, once accused, you should resign?for the good of the country. We?re waiting, Mr. DeLay.
DeLay on getting arrested and locked up:
At the 2005 National Rifle Association convention, DeLay, referencing the ethics charges against him, said, "When a man is in trouble or in a good fight, you want to have your friends around, preferably armed. So I feel really good."
Remarkably, DeLay wasn?t that supportive of having a ?posse? nearby when he lobbied for stricter punishments for other armed fighters: gang members. He noted on his website, ?For too long gang members have worn their prison time as a badge of honor. For us to really deter gang activity, we need stricter penalties for their actions. A minimum of 10 years in prison is nothing to brag about.? But, apparently, if you?re Tom DeLay, having armed friends when you?re in a fight is something to brag about.
DeLay on prison conditions:
Take your beatings like a man. DeLay has long opposed efforts to protect inmates? rights or improve prison conditions. For example, in 1999, DeLay introduced a bill that would have prohibited federal judges from ordering the release of any prisoner in state custody on the basis of prison conditions, no matter how bad those conditions were. DeLay also opposed investigating inmate abuse at Iraq?s notorious Abu Ghraib prison, likening a congressional investigation to "saying we need an investigation every time there?s police brutality on the street." (Umm ? don?t we?)
So, if he were convicted and incarcerated, even if his prison had no food or no sanitation or regular beatings, under his philosophy DeLay would have no recourse to federal judges, who have long played a role in preventing state prison abuses. And there might not be any congressional investigations, either. We guess that with so many armed friends available, DeLay figures he can take care of himself in the can.
(Or maybe he relishes the battle. According to a 1998 article in World Magazine, DeLay enjoys collecting instruments of brutality, decorating his office with a lovely display of bullwhips, leading the magazine to opine that someone viewing the decor "...might well conclude that the Texas Republican is some kind of Marquis de Sade in pin stripes.")
DeLay on the prison industry. DeLay?s support for keeping people in prison, for long sentences and regardless of prison conditions, dovetails nicely with his support for the private prison industry. Prisons are big business, and the corrections industry makes money putting people behind bars for the government. Reeves County in West Texas almost defaulted on a $40 million bond for its private prison before paying Tom DeLay?s brother $120,000 to lobby Washington to send more prisoners to the jail. Thanks to the DeLay family, getting as many people as possible into Texas prisons is a vital part of its economy; it?s good to see that Tom DeLay has done his part. As a result of all the prison construction, maybe, if convicted, he?ll be entitled to his own room ? uh, cell.
Find religion, and find it fast. ?Right in my own district, Chuck Colson?s Prison Fellowship took over an entire prison of faith. Do we know what the recidivism rate of the prison is? Mr. Speaker, it is three percent. Because we know that changing the heart and mind and soul of men through faith is how they are changed.? These were the heartfelt words of Tom DeLay on July 19, 2001, affirming his support for faith-based prison support programs. Considering that he?s in favor of determining guilt before conviction and imposing longer sentences, and opposed to abuse investigations and condition improvements, we imagine DeLay has a lot of reasons to pray right now.
