The Nation - News from July 8, 1985

Proposals to use lie detectors to search for spies and to impose the death penalty for espionage would violate fundamental constitutional liberties, said Morton Halperin, Washington director of the American Civil Liberties Union. Halperin called on Congress to reject anti-espionage proposals as unconstitutional. The proposals were contained in amendments to defense authorization bills. The real problems include “overclassification of information and excessive numbers of employees with access to sensitive information,” Halperin said.