In a letter delivered to the White House, religious,...

In a letter delivered to the White House, religious, civil rights, and political leaders urged President Clinton to declare a moratorium on federal executions. The letter was signed by 40 people, including several former members of the Clinton administration, Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, philanthropist George Soros, three Roman Catholic bishops, and members of the committee established by the president to study race relations in America. Organized by Citizens for a Moratorium on Federal Executions, the letter cites the recent Department of Justice study that shows racial and geographic disparities in the federal death penalty, and calls upon President Clinton to declare a moratorium on federal executions until a further review of the fairness of the federal death penalty process is complete.