INTER PRESS SERVICE – Poor defendants on death row, immigrants in unfair deportation proceedings, torture victims, domestic violence survivors and victims of racial discrimination – all these groups are consistently being denied access to justice while those responsible for the abuses are protected, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU Human Rights Programme,
told IPS, “Access to justice is a fundamental human right and bedrock
tenet of American democratic system – it was even codified by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the U.S. championed 62
years ago.”
“Unfortunately, access to the courts and effective remedy have been severely curtailed over the last decade, especially for those who need it most,” he said. “It is time for our government and judiciary to recommit to respecting and promoting this essential right.”
According to the report, “Slamming the Courthouse Doors”, the “actions of the executive, federal legislative, and judicial branches of the United States government have seriously restricted access to justice for victims of civil liberties and human rights violations, and have limited the availability of effective (or, in some cases, any) remedies for these violations.”
For example, the report details how individuals convicted of capital crimes who seek to present newly found evidence of their innocence or claims of serious constitutional violations are being denied recourse in the courts.
Federal legislation, most prominently the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), and Supreme Court decisions, has greatly limited access to federal review of state court death penalty convictions, the report says. It also charges that victims of rape, assault, religious rights violations and other serious abuses in prison are having their claims thrown out of court because of a restrictive federal law.
Continue reading about US… and Justice for a Few.
Article by: William Fisher
Photograph by flickr user: Chang’r
© 2010 IPS North America
