"Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act" would provide critical options for death row inmates with new evidence of innocence

WASHINGTON - Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), along with Constitution Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers [D-MI], Crime Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott [D-VA], Rep. Anthony Weiner [D-NY] , Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee [D-TX], and Ways and Means Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis [D-GA] today introduced the Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act (H.R. 3986), which would ensure that death row inmates have the opportunity to present newly discovered evidence of innocence.

WASHINGTON - As a result of the meeting last week between the Tri-State Delegation, the 51 members of the Georgia, Alabama, and Florida House and Senate delegations signed a letter today urging the three governors to meet expeditiously and develop a plan to resolve the water dispute.

Rep. John Lewis made the following statement on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today on the need for health care reform:

On Thursday evening October 29, 2009, Rep. John Lewis and Elwin Wilson, the man who attacked him at a bus depot in Rock Hill, SC will receive the Common Ground award at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC.  This honor, given by Search for Common Ground, is awarded to people who have made significant contributions to bridging divides between people, finding solutions to seemly intractable problems, and providing inspiration and hope to many. 

Today the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran a correction to a story published on Monday October 19, 2009.  The front-page story, entitled, "Opponents don't turn down cash: Lawmakers opposed to plan say it's their duty to look out for districts," included a chart which listed the amount of stimulus dollars granted to each congressional district in Georgia.  They listed the 5^th and the 4^th Districts, represented by Congressmen John Lewis and Hank Johnson respectively, among the lowest dollars granted any district.  And the article said, "In fact, combined spending for Georgia's seven GOP congressional districts totals $502.8 million, compared with $319.8 million for the state's six Democratic districts."