Corrine Brown

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. I visited two prisons, one in Guayaquil and one in Quito. The first one that I visited, 2,500 people in prison, 400 had received a trial. The other prison that my staff visited was a women's facility in Quito, and that is where the five American women were located. I met with about 10 Americans in Guayaquil, and I talked with them. They were husband and wife, and I talked with them about the various cases. And one of the things I have asked our State Department is to look into the status of each one of these cases and give us a report back on it and let us know what stages these are in. Now, their justice system has several stages. One is the arrest stage, probably the beginning and the end. But then the next stage should be some kind of a statement as to what one has been tried for. Then, one has one judge that decides whether one is guilty or innocent. And if one is found innocent, it automatically goes to like a Supreme Court, which is three judges; and then they rule on it. During this entire period that could take up to 4 years, you are in prison. There is no bail.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. There was none of that, Mr. Speaker. There was none of that. It was a real understanding that we have a problem and we need help with this problem. There was an acknowledgment that bribery, the system, that the system was antiquated, the system was not working, and they just really needed assistance. I hope that we can give them that assistance. Mr. Speaker, we do a lot of stuff all over the world, but I think we need to start at home, and South America is our neighbor. We need to do something about it. We are all against drugs and drugs coming into our country, but, clearly, our laws have affected their system.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. No; no Americans to my knowledge. Mr. Speaker, one of the things is that I met with the other Embassy and asked for a status of all of the 40 Americans that are in prison. My staff met with five women in prison in Quito. And that is where Mrs. Sandra Chase from Fort Lauderdale, she has been in prison for a year and a half, but there were five women in this particular prison. We met with her and talked with her, and as I said, she has been in prison for a year and a half, had not even given a police report.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, they have not only reported torture, but murder. Killings.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Well, Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman heard my testimony, one person, Mr. Richard Parker's father, saw the person who had his arm cut off with a machete. So if one has money, one can buy anything. So one of the things that I found out that if one is a drug user, it is easy to purchase in prison. I mean one can get it and one can get as much as one wants, and one can become an addict in prison.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Absolutely.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. He made this turtle.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, he was.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. That is right. Most of the Americans do have some kind of family support, but most of the Ecuadorians are just locked in the system like this young man. It was just in fact the prisoners brought him to me. They wanted me to see this example. Here this young man, a young man, got caught with one stick of marijuana being imprisoned 4 years; not a trial, not seeing a judge, not seeing a public defender, just there and will be there because he has no money and no family. So that is the case for most of the 2,500 people in this particular prison.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Unless you have some money you have no, no facilities.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. That is right.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Well, the conditions is the worst. In fact, the human rights groups indicated that Ecuadoran prisons, and I am sure this may be true in most of the South American countries, but Ecuador, No. 1, is one of the worst human rights violations in the whole world. And you know I feel kind of responsible in the sense that it is our drug policy, and their system was not set up that there is misdemeanors and you know. So small offenses, all of them, are treated the same, and this is where we can help as far as providing assistance to the judicial system to set up misdemeanors or to set up bail for small offenses. I mean this is a travesty, a human travesty, and it is the waste of not just the children but the family. But it costs the system just to keep these people in prison.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. They do not have a cell. It is just like an open barn with dirt floors, and there is an upstairs. Can you see the picture over there with Mr. Willliams and his wife? Well, this is a good area. And it is like up and down under, is like a dungeon, and that is where most of the prisoners are. And it is a few steps that separate them. But the odor comes up. But in this prison where you have over 2,500 people, no fresh water, no toilets; they dig holes in the ground, and they sleep on the dirt. It is just hard to describe.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. As I said earlier, a person with one stick of marijuana or someone that has a drug problem, they are all lumped together. But let me say something about the prison because perhaps I have not adequately described it. There is no toilets in the prison, none whatsoever. So all of this filth is right there, right out in the open. It is hard to believe that this condition could exist to our neighbor and the overcrowdedness, and the fact is children are being exposed to these conditions and diseases that run rampant in the prison.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Well, one of the things that is tragic about the system is that if a husband and wife is in the country and family members are picked up, fathers, in-laws, anyone suspected; so I mean you do not have to have proof, and you sit in prison for months, years, waiting on a trial, and if you do not have any money, there is no trial. And in fact you would come out better if you plead guilty, as opposed to pleading innocent, because you will serve more time in prison if you say that you are innocent. And there is something wrong with a system like this.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. No phones. There are no phones.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Let me say that the $30,000 is not on the table, it is under the table.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am here tonight to talk about my recent trip to Ecuador. I met many people who have been in prison for years, sleeping on dirty floors and eating unsanitary foods. There is no hope for a trial. The problem, Mr. Speaker, is that the laws of these countries do not work unless there is a justice system to administer them. Let me begin by quoting from the State Department 1996 human rights report on Ecuador: The most fundamental human rights abuses stem from shortcomings in the politicized and ineffective legal and judicial system. People are subject to arbitrary arrest. Once incarcerated, they may wait years before going to trial unless they resort to paying bribes. Other human rights abuses included isolated instances of killings, torments and other mistreatment of prisoners by the police; poor prison conditions; government failure to prosecute and punish human rights abuses; discrimination against women, Afro-Ecuadorans and poor people in general. Last month I traveled to Ecuador to visit American prisoner Jim Williams in the Guayaquil Penitentiary. I have a picture here of Jim and his wife. Jim has been in prison at this time for 9 months. When I traveled, I carried his wife. For the first time in 8 months, she and her husband saw each other. Jim Williams is an American. He is a businessman from Jacksonville, FL, and he has been held in this prison for the past 8 months. Several months ago, Mrs. Robin Williams, wife of Jim Williams, along with Charlie Williams, brother of Jim Williams, came to my office in Jacksonville to discuss the imprisonment of Jim Williams. They asked if I would travel to Ecuador to help investigate his situation. After I arrived in Ecuador, two factors became apparent. First is that the Ecuadoran judicial system, including the courts and prisons, is in a shambles, in a country where poverty is the norm and a typewriter is a luxury. The second is, the United States officials in Ecuador have an overriding role to combat drug trafficking, particularly of Colombian cocaine. Officials related to me that because of the United States pressure for drug suspects to be apprehended, there is a focus by an overwhelmed local police force to bring in anyone suspected of drug use, drug trafficking or money laundering. Local police lock up persons who are associated with even suspected drug dealers. Hence, prisoners and prisons are overcrowded with suspect drug usage, drug dealers, or money laundering. They are all lumped together. But because of the rampant corruption and bribery, the most dangerous narcotics offenders and traffickers are able to buy their freedom. Within this corrupt system, there are 40 Americans in prisons. Most of the people in Ecuadoran prisons have never had a trial and may never have one. They go to a jail where there is no public phones and there are no public toilets. In fact, there are no toilets. I met one prisoner who had been in jail for 4 years on charges that he had a single marijuana cigarette. I want to repeat that. I met one prisoner who had been in jail for 4 years on charges that he had a single marijuana cigarette. In fact, this turtle that I got from this prisoner so I could remember him, is this not a waste of human talent, human resources? This person that carved this turtle has been in prison for 4 years without a trial, and he may never get one. He has never seen a judge. The country has only 6 public defenders. Let me repeat that. The country has only 6 public defenders for 10 million people. Most prisoners are hopelessly lost in a broken judicial system. The cost to Ecuadorans in terms of human capital is enormous. I witnessed children growing up in prison. This is an example of the children in prison with their mothers and their fathers, growing up in the conditions that are some of the worst in the world. This is a picture of some of the children who live in prisons in Quito with their mothers. They have nowhere else to go. I witnessed fathers who cannot work and who are separated from their families. There is another cost, the cost of an inefficient system in which lost cases may be lying on the floor in the courtroom and police reports are not filed for months. In other words, if a person is arrested, the judges tell me, it could take 2 or 3 months before the police get the information to the judicial system. So each lingering case represents a person and a family that might linger for years without knowledge of their case or their crime. I visited a prison with 2,500 prisoners. Only 400 have received a trial. Let me repeat that. I visited a prison with 2,500 prisoners. Only 400 have received a trial. Jim Williams from Jacksonville got caught in this system. He is a fisherman who has fished in international waters for tuna and other large fish. Jim Williams got caught in this system, Jim Williams from Jacksonville. Jim is not just a prisoner. He is a person. I met Jim's mother, his brother Charlie Williams, and his wife Robin. He has a wonderful family here in America who are doing everything they can to help Jim get a fair trial. I will not mention the word speedy trial or timely trial. As far as I know, there is no substantial evidence linking Jim Williams to any drug deals or any money laundering. Nevertheless, when a large Drug Enforcement Agency net went out to several countries, Jim Williams was in Ecuador and was arrested by local police. He has been in prison now for 9 months, and he and his family have been trying to find their way through the fragmented Ecuadoran judicial system. Before my visit, Jim Williams was in an overloaded court system. During my visit, I learned that a person suspected of a drug crime will face not just one trial, which is almost impossible to get, but a series of trials because of a harsh counternarcotics law. If suspected drug offenders are fortunate enough to get through the trial and are found innocent, their verdicts are automatically appealed to two more courts. They must stay in jail during these appeals because there is no bail for drug violations. Because of the extensive bribery system, simply getting a trial can cost a prisoner up to $30,000. Wealthy people simply buy their way out. But Jim Williams has insisted on proving his innocence. Unfortunately, those who plead innocent spend more time in the system battling the charges than if they had pleaded guilty to the crime and had served their time. I would like to talk about another Floridian, Sandra Chase. She is 53 years old and has been in jail for 1\1/2\ years and still has not had a trial. Mrs. Chase, on her first trip out of the country, went to Ecuador last December. Mrs. Chase is another person arrested on this counternarcotics law. In March when I went to Ecuador is the first time she finally gave her statement to the police. Mrs. Chase has a circulatory disease and her feet are black and blue. I met her daughter, Tammi Chase from California, last week. She has the following to say: My mother is a good person who has never been in trouble. Now she is in prison in Ecuador. I don't know who to turn to. My mother will probably get 10 years and serve 5. I have a problem with that. I want to help my mother. I've already sent $20,000 to pay for a trial, and the money went nowhere. I send her food and clothes which other prisoners steal from her and beat her up. I am scared for her life. Why is there no one to help me? Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Chase remains in jail today. I would like to talk about another prisoner, Mr. Richard Parker. Mr. Parker of New York State was arrested in May 1995. He waited 15 months before his trial, 15 months. The judge found him innocent. Now I want to read that again. Mr. Parker of New York, May 1995; he waited 15 months before his trial. The judge found him innocent; his case was appealed to another court. They asked for an additional $20,000. The next court asked for $30,000. Richard refused to pay the court. They reversed the sentence, and he received 8 years. Let me tell you, Mr. Parker now has tuberculosis, and let me read a letter from his father: I visited Richard for several hours each of the four days I was there. I had the occasion to see the food which was distributed twice each day. Always it was a vat of weak watery broth from which feather heads and yellow feet of chicken stuck out. To obtain edible food prisoners had to buy food which for a payoff guards allowed to be brought in and which for another payoff was prepared in facilities by prisoners who sold it. The cost to support Richard in this environment has been several hundred dollars per month. Richard was allowed to take me on a tour of the prison, with a guard of course. I met a man from Cuba who had befriended Richard earlier but who could not afford to be moved. Last year another prisoner killed him. I also met a man who had only half of one arm which was still bandaged. He had been disarmed by a prisoner with a machete. Mr. Parker now has tuberculosis and is still in prison. During the time that I visited Ecuador, Mr. Parker was in the hospital. If you are in the hospital, it costs your family $70 a day. So you see that poor people have no way out of the system. During a meeting with advisers to the Supreme Court, I listened as they explained the most serious need of Ecuadoran judicial system, and I vowed to return to the United States to find assistance. Since returning to Washington, I have learned of the $10 million World Bank loan package now approved for assistance to Ecuador's judicial system, and I am working to expedite the process. This certainly should help with reform, but there is an important need for the U.S. oversight. There is a need for accountability. Like my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I am committed to fight the drug flow into the United States. Let me say that I am committed to fighting the drug flow to the United States. I agree that drugs are the poison destroying our homes and our children. But we cannot ignore the fact that the war on drugs has helped create casualties in South America and allowing others to buy their way out of prisons. Wealthy people and the poor and innocent are suffering for years imprisonment; it just cannot go on, and they are being treated like animals. I pray for safety, good health and justice for Jim Williams, Sandra Chase, Richard Parker and thousands of other prisoners in Ecuador who see no end to their injustices. I hope they will soon be reunited with their families. They have already lingered much too long in a broken criminal justice system. Let me now yield to my colleague who has been very, very supportive, who is from Georgia, who is the Representative of Jim Williams' family.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Forty Americans to date.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. That is right.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. There are no mattresses.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. It is if you do not have any money, you know your life is at risk every single moment that you are there.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. There is no medical doctor, and in fact Mr. Parker from New York that I talked about had to go to the hospital, and that would be another discussion because it is not a hospital. But the families, the American families, have to pay for that, and it costs $70 a day.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. There is no water, and there is no showers. There is lots of diseases.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the House of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution honoring one of Israel's greatest leaders--President Chaim Herzog. I want to express my true sympathies to Chaim Herzog's family and the people of Israel for having recently lost one of their favorite sons. Born in 1918, Chaim Herzog was son to Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, the Chief Rabbi of Ireland. To protect his son from the hazards of the Irish revolution, the elder Herzog sent his son from Dublin's Irish- Jewish ghetto to Palestine for schooling. In his formative years, Judaism taught him to respect the law so greatly that Herzog went on to eventually receive his bachelor of law degree at the University of London and a degree of barrister at law from The Honorable Society of Lincoln's Inn in London. But Herzog's belief in one true Jewish homeland was never far from his heart. He returned to Jerusalem in 1935 and served in the Jewish Defense Forces, commonly known as the Haganah, during the Arab revolt that lasted from 1936 to 1938. As Nazi Germany's evil empire began to overtake Europe, Herzog knew of his obligation to fight for and protect the Jewish Diaspora. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Herzog fought in World War II for the British Army, rising up to be the head of intelligence in northern Germany. As one of the first soldiers to liberate the concentration camp of Bergen Belsen, Herzog was left with an indelible impression of the horrors of the Holocaust. This experience underscored his belief that Jews needed their own homeland. Soon after his return to Palestine, Herzog fought in 1948 as an officer in Latrun, one of the bloodiest battles in Israel's War of Independence. From Herzog's success as an officer and intelligence experience in World War II, he created Israel's superb military intelligence infrastructure. In fact, he served as the head of the Israeli Defense Force's Military Intelligence Branch from 1948 to 1950 and 1959 to 1962. In between his terms as intelligence head, Herzog served as defense attache in Washington, DC., at the Israeli Embassy. He continued to further his military career until 1962, when Herzog retired from active duty as a Major General. When one would have preferred a private life at this point in his life, Herzog was thrust back into the military arena as the leading military commentator on Israeli radio during the 1967 Six-Day War. After the war, Herzog was appointed as the first military governor of the West Bank. At the age of 57, Herzog made the jump from military leader to diplomat. In 1975, Herzog was sent to New York to serve as the country's Ambassador to the United Nations. During the 3-year period he served as the Ambassador, Herzog is most known for speaking against the U.N. resolution that equates Zionism with racism. Herzog continued his political career when, in 1981, he was elected to Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, on the Labor Party ticket. As a Member of the 10th Knesset, Herzog served on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. in 1983, he was chosen as the sixth President of the State of Israel. From there, Herzog went on to be the longest serving President in Israeli history until 1993. Throughout his life, Herzog has reported his life's observations. Some of his national writings include ``The Arab-Israeli Wars,'' ``Israel's Finest Hour,'' and ``The War of Atonement.'' In his final book, ``Living History,'' Herzog writes: When I disembark, I hope that everything my generation and I dreamed of and fought for will have come true * * * I pray that the world will have taken even greater steps toward Democracy and the guarantee of human rights, and that dignity will have become the universally accepted value of mankind. Because of Chaim Herzog, I believe his dreams have come true. President Herzog--a soldier, a diplomat, and a voice to the world. He has truly been a light unto the nations.