Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.metro From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Death measure may get new life Date: Fri, 6 Nov 92 11:28:29 EST Message-ID: \SE B;METROPOLITAN \HD Death measure may get new life \BY Vincent McCraw and Jim Clardy \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES A D.C. Republican hinted yesterday that he may resurrect his citizen-sponsored death-penalty measure, while the Democratic senator who wrote Tuesday's failed voter initiative is unlikely to continue pursuing the issue. Harry Singleton, head of D.C. Save Our Streets, doesn't believe defeat of the congressionally mandated measure should end discussion of whether capital punishment will stem violence in the city. But it was unclear whether the voter initiative was defeated because of outrage toward Congress, said Mr. Singleton, who asked D.C. elections officials last month to defer consideration of his citizen-sponored measure until after Tuesday's election. "We did not get a clear reader on the sentiment of the city on this issue because it was clouded by the argument of congressional mandate," he said, adding that he will decide within a few days whether to pursue the effort. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama introduced his bill after his aide Tom Barnes was fatally shot during an apparent robbery attempt on Capitol Hill earlier this year. On Tuesday, it was defeated 67 percent to 33 percent. All 18 precincts in Ward 6, which includes Capitol Hill, voted against the measure. Mr. Shelby wasn't surprised by the outcome, said his press secretary, Tricia Primrose, yesterday. The Alabama Democrat wanted only to improve the city's criminal justice system and is not likely to pursue the effort, Ms. Primrose said. "He knew there was tough opposition, and we saw that magnify after President Bush signed the city appropriations law," she said. "His goal was to allow people to vote on it, but he still has concerns about crime and punishment in the District." The precincts registering the strongest protest of the measure were predominantly black and poor residents whose neighborhoods are hardest hit by violent crime. "Those people were less impressed with arguments about home rule than they were with the use of the death penalty on people they also know," D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said. But in some parts of Ward 3 - including Palisades, Wesley Heights and Tenley Circle - the measure was approved. For example, at Precinct 9, the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church at Nebraska and New Mexico avenues, the initiative won 671 to 467. At Precinct 12, St. Albans Parish on Wisconsin Avenue, it won by 41 votes. "This clearly is an issue that not only evokes racial tensions nationally but locally," said Mark Thompson, a University of the District of Columbia student and leader of the Kiamsha student group, which helped defeat the measure. "While many of us made the argument that it was a colonial imposition, if it comes back up from some citizen-sponsored mechanism, we could clearly argue some of the racial implications," he said. In the Chevy Chase section of the city, voters defeated the measure 1,013 to 671. Likewise, in Forest Hills, 700 ballots were cast against and 586 were in favor. For the entire Ward 3, the measure was defeated by a little more than 3,000 votes - 14,394 in favor and 17,806 against. Across town, Ward 8 voters at Precinct 121, which includes the Valley Green area, rejected it 1,029 to 327, while Washington Highlands residents voted 995 against and 317 in favor. Both neighborhoods have extensive public and low-income housing. "I don't know where you find a majority that would pass it," said Mrs. Norton. The message to Congress was echoed around the city on Election Day, officials said. "It says mind your own business," said D.C. Council member Jim Nathanson. "This vote is a wonderful victory for home rule and reasonable government." Council member Frank Smith said voters sent two messages Tuesday night - one directed at Congress and the second to city officials. "The public is fed up with this violence and they want us to do something about it." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM