Bush tags $50 Million for lawyer training -- plan falls far short

President Bush believes the nation's capital punishment system is a problem in need of a $50 million repair, but aides say he will not call for a moratorium on executions. During his State of the Union speech on Wednesday night, Bush said he would soon ask for the money to pay for special training for defense counsel in capital cases "because people on trial for their lives must have competent lawyers by their side." Under the president's plan, $20 million would be spent in the next fiscal year training private lawyers and public defenders, state judges and prosecutors. He also called for $236 million -- $1 billion over five years -- for DNA testing. Bush's request for $50 million for lawyer training over three years, however, is far short of what Congress suggested in reforms passed last fall and signed by Bush. The $50 million, if approved by Congress, will be available to state bar associations, defense lawyers associations and others for training concerning what the Bush aide called "available defenses" in capital cases, and to make sure defendants have access to current technology. The goal, said a White House aide speaking on condition of anonymity, is to guarantee "vigorous defense for any defendant whose life is at risk in the capital phase." Despite Bush's concerns about adequate representation for capital case defendants, the president will not support calls for a national moratorium on executions, the aide said, saying it is an issue for states to consider. Michael Stark, spokesman for the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, said a president who sees a problem that needs a $50 million fix should support a moratorium. "I think to continue to advocate for continued use of the death penalty with just meager measures to try to fix it represents how far we have to go until we really address it," Stark said. [more] and [more]