ACLU/SC to Honor Members of Congress, Innocence Advocates
Monday, September 10, 2007
LOS ANGELES — Muckraking members of Congress and the co-founders of the Innocence Project who have drawn attention to a crisis in our criminal justice system will be among those honored at the ACLU of Southern California’s 44th annual Garden Party on Sept. 16.
Rep. Henry Waxman’s leadership of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has exposed waste, fraud, and abuse of power under the Bush administration. His work revealed White House ties to corrupt energy-trader Enron and the misuse of billions of dollars of contracts in the Iraq war. A leader on health and environmental issues, he has fought for universal health insurance, comprehensive Medicare and Medicaid coverage, tobacco regulation, AIDS research and treatment, air and water quality standards and reproductive rights.
Since its founding in 1992, Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld’s Innocence Project at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City has led to almost 200 exonerations of people convicted of crimes they did not commit. Scheck and Neufeld’s work contributed to the passage of three California bills this year to reduce the chief causes of wrongful conviction: faulty eyewitness testimony, coerced confessions, and the uncorroborated testimony of jailhouse informants.
Rep. Linda Sánchez and her sister Rep. Loretta Sanchez have taken firm stances on core civil liberties issues. As the first Latina member of the House Judiciary Committee, Linda Sanchez spearheaded efforts to get at the truth behind the Bush Administration’s firing of nine U.S. Attorneys. Loretta Sanchez opposed efforts to spy on Americans without civil oversight and to make the Patriot Act permanent.
Other honorees include TV producer and human rights activist Victoria Riskin and her husband, playwright and writer-producer David Rintels (“Clarence Darrow,” “Andersonville”), as well as extraordinary ACLU member Rita Henry, who helped Simi Valley strawberry vendors facing civil liberties restrictions.
“These Southern Californians are leading the national struggle to restore our civil liberties, and we honor their commitment,” said ACLU/SC executive director Ramona Ripston. “They are a model for others who want to make a difference in people’s lives and in our country’s future.”
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