[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4258 Introduced in House (IH)]
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4258
To penalize States that release individuals convicted of murder, rape,
or a dangerous sexual offense involving a child under the age of 14.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 1998
Mr. Salmon (for himself, Mr. Scarborough, Mr. Livingston, Mr. Gilman,
Mr. Traficant, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, Mr. Smith of New Jersey,
Mr. Riley, Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Hilleary, Mr.
Hayworth, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Bob Schaffer of Colorado, Mr.
Pitts, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Neumann, Mr. King, Mr. Ensign, Mr.
Fox of Pennsylvania, Mr. Foley, Mr. McHale, Mr. Christensen, Mr.
Weller, Mr. Cunningham, and Mrs. Fowler) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To penalize States that release individuals convicted of murder, rape,
or a dangerous sexual offense involving a child under the age of 14.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``No Second Chances for Murderers,
Rapists, or Child Molesters Act of 1998''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) any individual convicted of murder should receive the
death penalty or be imprisoned for life without the possibility
of parole; and
(2) any individual convicted of rape or a dangerous sexual
offense involving a child under the age of 14 should be
imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole.
SEC. 3. PENALTY FOR STATES THAT RELEASE CERTAIN FELONS.
(a) Penalty.--
(1) In general.--In a case in which a State convicts a
person of murder, rape, or a dangerous sexual offense, who has
a prior conviction for one of these offenses in another State,
the Attorney General shall administer the transfer of the
following amounts from Federal law enforcement assistance funds
of the State that convicted such person of the first offense:
(A) Up to $100,000 shall be transferred to each
victim (or if the victim is deceased, the victim's
estate) of the subsequent offense.
(B) The cost of incarceration, prosecution, and
apprehension of such person shall be transferred to the
State that convicted of a subsequent offense. Half of
the amounts transferred shall be paid to the State
entity designated to administer crime victim
assistance, and half shall be deposited in a State
account that collects Federal law enforcement funds.
(2) Multiple states.--In a case in which a State convicts a
person of murder, rape, or a dangerous sexual offense, who has
a prior conviction for one of these offenses in more than one
State, the Attorney General shall administer the transfer of
the following amounts from Federal law enforcement assistance
funds of each State that convicted of a prior offense:
(A) Up to $100,000 shall be apportioned equally
among the States that convicted of prior offenses and
transferred to each victim (or if the victim is
deceased, the victim's estate) of the subsequent
offense.
(B) The cost of incarceration, prosecution, and
apprehension of such person shall be apportioned
equally among the States that convicted of prior
offenses and transferred to the State that convicted of
a subsequent offense. Half of the amounts transferred
shall be paid to the State entity designated to
administer crime victim assistance, and half shall be
deposited in a State account that collects Federal law
enforcement funds.
(b) State Applications.--To receive funds under this section, the
chief executive of a State shall submit an application to the Attorney
General in such form and containing such information as the Attorney
General may reasonably require, including a certification that the
State has convicted a person of murder, rape, or a dangerous sexual
offense, who has a prior conviction for one of these offenses in
another State.
(c) Source of Funds.--Any amount transferred as a result of
subsection (a) shall be derived by reducing funds from Federal law
enforcement assistance programs received by the State that convicted of
the first offense. The Attorney General, in consultation with the chief
executive of the State that convicted of the first offense, shall
develop a payment schedule.
(d) Construction.--This section shall not be construed to diminish
or modify any court ordered restitution.
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION.
The United States Sentencing Commission shall amend the Federal
Sentencing Guidelines to provide that--
(1) whoever is guilty of murder, as defined in section 6 of
this Act, shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for
life; and
(2) whoever is guilty of rape or a dangerous sexual
offense, as defined in section 6 of this Act, shall be punished
by imprisonment for life.
SEC. 5. COLLECTION OF RECIDIVISM DATA.
Pursuant to guidelines established in the Uniform Federal Crime
Reporting Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-690), the Attorney General shall
collect and distribute data to the President, Members of the Congress,
State governments, and officials of localities and penal and other
institutions participating in the Uniform Crime Reports program which
includes--
(1) the number of murders, rapes, and dangerous sexual
offenses committed by persons previously convicted of one of
these offenses; and
(2) the percentage of cases in which a person convicted of
murder, rape, or a dangerous sexual offense in one State
commits a second offense in another State.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act--
(1) Murder.--The term ``murder'' means the unlawful killing
of a human being with malice aforethought, and includes
murder--
(A) perpetrated by poison, lying in wait, or any
other kind of willful, deliberate, malicious, and
premeditated killing;
(B) committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to
perpetrate, any arson, escape, murder, kidnapping,
treason, espionage, sabotage, aggravated sexual abuse
or sexual abuse, burglary, or robbery; or
(C) perpetrated from a premeditated design
unlawfully and maliciously to effect the death of any
individual other than the individual who is killed.
(2) Rape.--The term ``rape'' includes the carnal knowledge
of an individual forcibly and against the will of such
individual.
(3) Dangerous sexual offense.--The term ``dangerous sexual
offense'' means sexual abuse or sexually explicit conduct
committed by an individual who is over the age of 18 against a
child under the age of 14.
(4) Sexual abuse.--The term ``sexual abuse'' includes the
employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or
coercion of a child under the age of 14 to engage in, or assist
another person to engage in, sexually explicit conduct or the
rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual
exploitation of children, or incest with children.
(5) Sexually explicit conduct.--The term ``sexually
explicit conduct'' means actual or simulated--
(A) sexual intercourse, including sexual contact in
the manner of genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-
genital, or oral-anal contact, whether between persons
of the same or of opposite sex;
(B) bestiality;
(C) masturbation;
(D) lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic
area of a person or animal; or
(E) sadistic or masochistic abuse.
(6) Sexual contact.--The term ``sexual contact'' means the
intentional touching, either directly or though clothing, of
the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of
any person with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade,
or arouse or gratify sexual desire of any person.
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