Gore Seeks Crime Victims' Bill of Rights
By Thomas Ferraro
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore (news - web sites) on Tuesday called for a constitutional amendment to create a bill of rights for crime victims.
Complaining states now provide a patchwork of inadequate protections and that there are no comprehensive federal safeguards, Gore proposed a new shield to help victims obtain justice, compensation and even a measure of peace of mind.
``I am proposing a Crime Victims Bill of Rights -- so our justice system puts victims and families first,'' he said in remarks prepared for delivery at a campaign event at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.
``I'm not satisfied when accused criminals have all kinds of rights, but victims don't always have rights that are protected and guaranteed,'' the vice president said.
Critics say that in many states offenders have more rights than victims, and that existing laws, besides being inadequate, are not fully enforced.
In fact, victims are often not informed of legal proceedings, not invited to meet with prosecutors, not allowed to participate in sentencing and are not informed when their perpetrator is released from prison.
Gore called for a constitutional amendment that would guarantee such notification, protection and participation.
Focus On Crime
Gore intends to focus his campaigning this week on crime, traditionally a top concern among voters and one that had been long dominated by so-called law-and-order Republicans.
But Gore and President Clinton have helped seize the issue for Democrats since they took office in 1993 by contributing to reducing crime.
In fact, the crime rate has decreased in each of the past seven years, while the U.S. economy has enjoyed record growth.
A chief theme of Gore's White House campaign has been ''progress and prosperity,'' with the vice president saying the best way to keep the nation moving in the right direction is to elect him president over Republican rival George W. Bush (news - web sites).
The Gore campaign is buoyed by new polls that show the vice president gaining on Bush or even in a virtual tie with the Texas governor, who had been leading for months.
Gore said as president he would work with prosecutors, citizen groups and the Justice Department's Office of Victims' Rights to ensure that these rights are enforced and would increase the federal Crime Victims Fund.
He said his measure would cost $685 million over 10 years, funded entirely out of the record federal surplus, now protected to hit $2.2 trillion over 10 years.
Gore, who arrived in Tennessee from Washington on Monday, planned to go to Kansas City later on Tuesday and then Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Monday, Gore delivered a pep talk to more than 100 staff members and volunteers at his campaign headquarters in Nashville, and then attended a pair of fund-raisers in Memphis that raked in about $400,000 for the Democratic National Committee.