Clinton Calls for More Police, Fewer Execution Appeals : Law: Anti-crime plan also would target illegitimate gun dealers. Much of package was negotiated in advance, but GOP senators may object to arms purchase delay.

WASHINGTON —  President Clinton proposed a package of anti-crime measures Wednesday aimed at increasing the number of police officers on the streets, cracking down on illegitimate gun dealers and significantly changing the way death penalty cases are handled in U.S. courts.

“The first duty of any government is to try to keep its citizens safe,” Clinton said as he announced his plans in the White House Rose Garden, where he was flanked by the now-typical phalanx of uniformed police officers that presidents round up when they announce anti-crime initiatives.

The proposals, negotiated in advance with congressional leaders, state attorneys general and prosecutors, are aimed at breaking a logjam that prevented the passage of anti-crime legislation by Congress last year. But the package could still be blocked over the so-called Brady bill, which calls for a five-day waiting period for gun purchases. That bill--named for former Ronald Reagan Press Secretary James S. Brady, who was injured in a presidential assassination attempt--has been approved by both houses of Congress in the past but faces a threatened filibuster from Senate Republicans, who have vowed to fight it this time.

A crime bill passed both houses of Congress last year only to die in the closing days of the session amid partisan rancor.

As a sign of bipartisanship, White House officials invited two Republican senators--William S. Cohen of Maine and Larry Pressler of South Dakota--to attend Clinton’s announcement. Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), who has criticized many Clinton proposals, issued a relatively supportive statement about the crime initiative, asserting that Clinton had decided to “follow the Republican lead” in making his proposals.

In part to speed the process along, Clinton will not craft his own legislation but will support bills already introduced in Congress by House and Senate Democratic leaders.

The bills are largely similar to last year’s legislation but contain three new elements.

* First, the new proposals would limit the federal appeals that a Death Row inmate can file.

That issue was a key provision that caused last year’s bill to stall. At the time, state attorneys general objected that the legislation, as written, actually would lengthen the appeals process. Administration and congressional officials have reached a compromise that could significantly speed passage of the bill.

Under the compromise, defendants would be required to file federal habeas corpus petitions--the final step in the review process--within 60 days of their last appeal. Petitions could be filed later only if a defendant could show that he has new evidence that was unavailable before. The goal is to reduce the delays in executions caused by habeas corpus petitions.

Although many state officials across the country are going along with the compromise, California Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren said he continues to oppose the proposed changes, arguing that they would not aid prosecutors sufficiently.

Defense lawyers, however, have argued that any restriction on appeals would lead to the execution of innocent people who were mistakenly convicted, a point conceded in part by U.S. Deputy Atty. Gen. Philip B. Heymann.

Because of the guarantee that a person could still appeal if new evidence is found, “I think that the risk of wrongly executing someone will not be greatly increased,” Heymann said. “I can’t say it wouldn’t be increased at all.”

In return for restricting appeals, the government would require states to guarantee that Death Row defendants are represented by attorneys at every stage of the process. California has such a requirement but many states do not. The lawyers would have to meet minimum competency standards and would have to be paid a “reasonable” fee.

Now, in many states with large numbers of capital cases, defendants often are represented by poorly trained and underpaid--or volunteer--lawyers. As a result, large numbers of cases are thrown out on appeal, often because of trial procedures later found to be flawed.

* In a second new element, $3.4 billion would be spent in grants to states and localities over the next five years to increase the number of police on the streets. White House officials said that, if Congress approves the funds, the money would help pay for 50,000 new officers.

During his campaign, Clinton talked about placing 100,000 more officers on the streets. White House officials said that, in addition to the crime bill, several other initiatives would move the nation toward that goal. Clinton’s national service bill, for example, would allow young people to work for police departments in jobs that would free more officers to patrol the streets.

* A final new element involves gun dealers. Now, almost anyone who pays a $30 registration fee can obtain a three-year gun dealer’s license without undergoing even a cursory background check to determine if the applicant has a criminal record. In the majority of cases, the “dealers” do not even sell guns, government statistics show. Merely obtaining a license, however, allows a person to buy guns for himself without having to comply with many state gun laws.

Over the last decade, the number of licensed dealers has soared to about 287,000.

Clinton directed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to change those regulations to crack down on illegitimate dealers. Much of that tightening, officials said, can be done without new legislation.

Clinton also directed the bureau to change current regulations to bar the import of assault pistols. Officials conceded that nearly all assault pistols are made domestically so that an import ban would have little impact. But they argued that the new rules would close a “loophole” that could be exploited in the future.

Clinton has asked separately for legislation that would ban domestic production of assault weapons, but the proposal faces strong opposition from the National Rifle Assn.

“This bears out the real intent: to disarm American citizens incrementally for reasons having nothing to do with violent crime,” said James Jay Baker, chief lobbyist for the NRA.

Crime Plan’s Key Components

Highlights of President Clinton’s anti-crime plan:

* More police: A five-year, $3.4-billion program to help communities put up to 50,000 more police officers on the streets.

* Gun safeguards: The pending Brady bill, which calls for a five-day wait on handgun purchases and for background checks on would-be buyers. The waiting period would phase out as each state upgrades its criminal records and computerization to provide instant checks.

* Death penalty expansion: Expansion of the federal death penalty to cover nearly 50 offenses, including killing a federal law enforcement officer. In many cases, it simply would restore the penalty to crimes that carried it before the Supreme Court overturned capital punishment in 1972.

* Limit on appeals: A limit on federal habeas corpus appeals, primarily by Death Row inmates, to reduce delays in carrying out sentences. Inmates would get only one federal habeas appeal, and that would, for the first time, have to be filed within six months after completion of other appeals. Poor defendants in death-penalty cases would get lawyers who met tough standards to ensure that they got fair chances during trial and appeals. There would be exceptions to the time limit for evidence of innocence.

* College aid: A four-year, $100-million Police Corps initiative, giving college scholarships and police training to up to 5,000 students who are willing to make a four-year commitment to police work.

* Bases as youth camps: Conversion of closed military bases and other facilities to boot camps for young offenders.

* Others: Outside the crime bill plans, other proposals totaling $1.8 billion would provide for 45,000 more sworn and non-sworn police and public safety workers. They include an Education Department-funded Safe Schools program, Housing and Urban Development Department-funded public housing safety program and the national service plan in which 25,000 young people would serve as non-sworn public safety workers to repay college grants.

Source: Associated Press