U.S FAUTLED ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES

Amnesty International Report Cites Violations by Prisons, Police

The United States measures other countries against a lofty ideal when it
comes to human rights, but it frequently violates these standards within
its own borders, Amnesty International contends in a new report to be
released today.

From prisoners forced to wear shock-emitting stun belts to police who beat
suspects without cause, the 153-page document provides the group's first
comprehensive look at human rights violations in the United States.

Amnesty International accuses the United States of maintaining a double
standard: criticizing other countries for their abuses while not abiding by
international treaties and principles of human rights itself. The United
States, for example, has failed to sign the U.N. Convention on the Rights
of the Child, which seeks to promote human rights for children.

"When the U.S. house is not in order, it makes it far harder for the U.S.
to take the kind of leadership role in international human rights that many
of us in Amnesty would like to see it take," said William Schultz,
executive director of the American chapter of the
London-based organization.

Amnesty, a longtime vocal opponent of capital punishment, admonished the
United States for its continued use of the death penalty. The country
should move to abolish the system, which is "racist, arbitrary and unfair,"
the group said.

U.S. authorities have executed more than 350 prisoners since 1990, and
another 3,300 prisoners await execution on death row, the report noted, and
some states execute juveniles and persons with mental retardation.

International standards dictate that law enforcement officers should use
force only as a last resort and in proportion to the threat they encounter.
But the report accuses police of frequently disregarding these standards,
beating and abusing suspects unnecessarily.

The 1997 case of Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant allegedly tortured by
New York City police, propelled the problem into the public spotlight. But
the report also points to abuses in other cities such as Philadelphia,
where police allegedly conducted unjustified traffic stops and searches,
particularly on minorities, and Pittsburgh, where drug squad officers
allegedly planted evidence on suspects and falsified reports.

Prison facilities are another site of frequent human rights violations, the
report alleges. It says inmates fall victim to excessive force by guards,
sexual abuse by fellow inmates and cruel use of restraints, such as
leg-irons and restraint chairs.

Some prisoners are forced to wear remote control stun belts, which emit a
shock when activated by guards. The stun belts, used by the U.S. Bureau of
Prisons, 100 county agencies and at least 16 state correctional facilities,
cause severe pain and incapacitation, says the report.

Copyright 1998 The Associated Press

Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson