[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 517 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 517

 To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a sentence under 
 the Uniform Code of Military Justice of confinement for life without 
 eligibility for parole and to provide that a decision to deny parole 
for a military offender serving a sentence of confinement for life may 
                   be appealed only to the President.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 4, 1997

  Mr. Bryant introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on National Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a sentence under 
 the Uniform Code of Military Justice of confinement for life without 
 eligibility for parole and to provide that a decision to deny parole 
for a military offender serving a sentence of confinement for life may 
                   be appealed only to the President.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF SENTENCE OF CONFINEMENT FOR LIFE WITHOUT 
              ELIGIBILITY FOR PAROLE.

    (a) Establishment of Sentence.--(1) Chapter 47 of title 10, United 
States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended by 
inserting after section 856 (article 56) the following new section 
(article):
``Sec. 856a. Art. 56a. Sentence of confinement for life without 
              eligibility for parole
    ``(a) For any offense for which a sentence of confinement for life 
may be adjudged, a court-martial may adjudge a sentence of confinement 
for life without eligibility for parole.
    ``(b) An accused who is sentenced to confinement for life without 
eligibility for parole shall serve the sentence of confinement as 
adjudged unless--
            ``(1) the sentence is set aside or otherwise modified as a 
        result of action taken by a Court of Criminal Appeals, the 
        Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, or the Supreme Court; or
            ``(2) the accused is pardoned.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter VIII of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
856 (article 56) the following new item:

``856a. 56a. Sentence of confinement for life without eligibility for 
                            parole.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 856a of title 10, United States Code 
(article 56a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as added by 
subsection (a), shall apply with respect to any offense for which a 
sentence is adjudged by a court-martial after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.

SEC. 2. APPEAL OF DENIAL OF PAROLE FOR OFFENDERS SERVING LIFE SENTENCE.

    (a) Exclusive Authority of President To Grant Parole on Appeal of 
Denial.--Section 952 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``The Secretary''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) In a case in which parole for an offender serving a sentence 
of confinement for life is denied, only the President may grant the 
offender parole on appeal of that denial. The authority to grant parole 
on appeal in such a case may not be delegated.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to any 
decision to deny parole made after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
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