[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 27 (Thursday, February 13, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2475-S2478]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FEINGOLD:
  S. 402. A bill to abolish the death penalty under Federal law; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I introduce the Federal Death 
Penalty Abolition Act of 2003. This bill would abolish the death 
penalty at the Federal level. It would put an immediate

[[Page S2476]]

halt to executions and forbid the imposition of the death penalty as a 
sentence for violations of Federal law.
  Since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme 
Court, there have been 830 executions across the country, including two 
at the Federal level. At the same time, 103 people on death row were 
later found innocent and released from death row. Exonerated inmates 
are not only removed from death row, but they are usually released from 
prison altogether. Apparently, these people never should have been 
convicted in the first place. While death penalty proponents claim that 
the death penalty is fair, efficient, and a deterrent, the fact remains 
that our criminal justice system has failed and has resulted in at 
least 103 very grave mistakes.
  Eight hundred and thirty executions, and 103 exonerations. Those are 
not good odds. It is an embarrassing statistic, one that should have us 
all questioning the use of capital punishment in this country.
  Since January 25, 2001, when I last introduced this bill, the Federal 
Government resumed executions for the first time in almost 40 years, 
and 138 people have been executed nationwide. In this new year, we have 
begun our use of capital punishment at an alarming pace. We are only in 
the second week of February, and there have already been 10 executions 
this year. And yet this one-to-eight error rate looms. Is it possible 
that those 10 people are representative of the one-to-eight error rate 
that has plagued the death penalty since it was reinstated in 1976? Is 
it possible that in the last six weeks, as we have debated a war in 
Iraq, funding levels for Federal programs, and judicial nominations, 
our nation has killed an innocent person?
  It is a difficult question to ask, but an even more difficult one to 
ignore.
  While executions continue and the death row population grows, the 
national debate on the death penalty continues and has become even more 
vigorous. The number of voices joining in to express doubt about the 
use of capital punishment in America is growing. As evidence of the 
flaws in our system mounts, it has created an awareness that has not 
escaped the attention of the American people. Layer after layer of 
confidence in the death penalty system has been gradually peeling away, 
and the voices of those questioning its fairness are growing louder and 
louder. Now they can be heard from college campuses and court rooms and 
podiums across the Nation, to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing 
room, to the Supreme Court. We must not ignore them.
  That our society relies on killing as punishment is disturbing 
enough. Even more disturbing, however, is that the States' and Federal 
Government's use of the death penalty is often not consistent with 
principles of due process, fairness, and justice. These principles are 
the foundation of our criminal justice system. It is more clear than 
ever before that we have put innocent people on death row. In addition, 
statistics show that those States that have the death penalty are more 
likely to put people to death for killing white victims than for 
killing black victims.
  After the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, the Federal 
Government first resumed death penalty prosecutions after enactment of 
a 1988 Federal law that provided for the death penalty for murder in 
the course of a drug-kingpin conspiracy. The Federal death penalty was 
then expanded significantly in 1994, when the omnibus crime bill 
allowed its use to apply to a total of some 60 Federal offenses. Since 
1994, Federal prosecutions seeking the death penalty have now 
accelerated.
  A survey on the Federal death penalty system from 1988 to early 2000 
was released by the U.S. Department of Justice in September 2000. That 
report showed troubling racial and geographic disparities in the 
federal government's administration of the death penalty. In other 
words, who lives and who dies in the Federal system appears to relate 
to the color of the defendant's skin or the region of the country where 
the defendant is prosecuted. Attorney General Janet Reno was so 
disturbed by the results of that report that she ordered a further, in-
depth study of the results. Attorney General John Ashcroft pledged to 
continue that study, but we still await the results of that further 
study. The Federal Government should do all that it can to ensure that 
no person is ever subject to harsher penalties, most importantly that 
of capital punishment, because of the color of the defendant's skin.
  I am certain that not one of my colleagues here in the Senate, not a 
single one, would defend racial discrimination in this ultimate 
punishment. The most fundamental guarantee of our Constitution is equal 
justice under law, and equal protection of the laws.
  While the Federal death penalty system is clearly plagued by flaws, 
there are 38 States across our Nation that also authorize the use of 
capital punishment. And like the Federal system, those systems are not 
free from error.
  Over three years ago, Governor George Ryan took the historic step of 
placing a moratorium on executions in Illinois and creating an 
independent, blue ribbon commission to review the State's death penalty 
system. The Commission conducted an extensive study of the death 
penalty in Illinois and released a report with 85 recommendations for 
reform of the death penalty system. The Commission concluded that the 
death penalty system is not fair, and that the risk of executing the 
innocent is alarming real. Governor Ryan recently pardoned four death 
row inmates and commuted the sentences of all remaining Illinois death 
row inmates, after the State legislature failed to enact even one of 
the Commission's recommendations.
  Illinois is not alone. Two years ago, then Governor Parris Glendening 
learned of suspected racial disparities in the administration of the 
death penalty in Maryland. Governor Glendening did not look the other 
way. He commissioned the University of Maryland to conduct the most 
exhaustive study of Maryland's application of the death penalty in 
history. Then last year, faced with the rapid approach of a scheduled 
execution, Governor Glendening acknowledged that it was unacceptable to 
allow executions to take place while the study he had ordered was not 
yet complete. So, in May 2002, he placed a moratorium on executions.
  That study was released in January and the findings should startle us 
all. The study found that blacks accused of killing whites are simply 
more likely to receive a death sentence than blacks who kill blacks, or 
than white killers. According to the report, black offenders who kill 
whites are four times as likely to be sentenced to death as blacks who 
kill blacks, and twice as likely to get a death sentence as whites who 
kill whites.
  Maryland and Illinois are not exceptions to a rule, nor anomalies in 
an otherwise perfect system. In fact, since reinstatement of the modern 
death penalty, 81 percent of capital cases across the country have 
involved white victims, even though only 50 percent of murder victims 
are white. Nationwide, more than half of the death row inmates are 
African Americans or Hispanic Americans.
  There is evidence of racial disparities, inadequate counsel, 
prosecutorial misconduct, and false scientific evidence in death 
penalty systems across the country. While the research done in Maryland 
and Illinois has yielded shocking results, there are 36 other States 
that authorize the use of the death penalty, most of them far more 
frequently. Twenty-one of the 38 States that authorize capital 
punishment have executed more inmates than Maryland, and 13 of those 
States have carried out more executions than Illinois. So while we are 
closer to uncovering the unthinkable truth about the flaws in the 
Maryland and Illinois death penalty systems, there are 36 other states 
with systems that are most likely plagued with the same flaws. And yet, 
the killing continues.
  At the beginning of 2003, at the beginning of a new century and 
millennium with hopes for great progress, I cannot help but believe 
that our progress has been tarnished by our Nation's not only 
continuing, but increasing use of the death penalty. We are a Nation 
that prides itself on the fundamental principles of justice, liberty, 
equality and due process. We are a Nation that scrutinizes the human 
rights records of other nations. We are one of the first nations to 
speak out against torture and killings by foreign governments. We 
should hold our own system of justice to the highest standard.
  Over the last two years, some prominent voices in our country have 
done

[[Page S2477]]

just that. And they are not just voices of liberals, or of the faith 
community. They are the voices of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Reverend 
Pat Robertson, George Will, former FBI Director William Sessions, 
Republican Governor George Ryan, and Democratic Governor Parris 
Glending. The voices of those questioning our application of the death 
penalty are growing in number, and they are growing louder.
  And while we examine the flaws in our death penalty system, we cannot 
help but note that our use of the death penalty stands in stark 
contrast to the majority of nations, which have abolished the death 
penalty in law or practice. There are now 111 countries that have 
abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. The European Union 
denies membership in the alliance to those nations that use the death 
penalty. In fact, it passed a resolution calling for the immediate and 
unconditional global abolition of the death penalty, and it 
specifically called on all states within the United States to abolish 
the death penalty. This is significant because it reflects the 
unanimous view of a group of nations with which the United States 
enjoys the closest of relationships.
  On February 5, 2003, the International Court of Justice, ICJ, ruled 
unanimously that the United States must temporarily stay the execution 
of three Mexican citizens on death row in Texas and Oklahoma. There are 
currently 112 foreign nationals on death row in this country. Under 
Article 36 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, local 
authorities are required to notify all detained foreigners ``without 
delay'' of their right to have their consulate informed of their 
detention. In most cases, this international law is not being followed. 
In fact, only seven cases of 152 reported death sentences have been 
identified as meeting complete compliance with Article 36 requirements. 
The purpose of this law is to ensure that foreign nationals are allowed 
time to secure adequate counsel during the critical stages of their 
cases. The February ruling of the ICJ was based on the need for an 
investigation into whether the foreign nationals on death row were ever 
given their right to legal assistance from their home governments.
  What is even more troubling in the international context is that the 
United States is now one of only seven countries that imposes the death 
penalty for crimes committed by juveniles. So, while a May 2002 Gallup 
poll found that 69 percent of Americans oppose the death penalty for 
those under the age of 18, we are one of only seven nations on this 
earth that puts to death people who were under 18 years of age when 
they committed their crimes. The other are Iran, the Democratic 
Republican of the Congo, Pakistan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. In 
the last decade, the United States has executed more juvenile offenders 
than all other nations combined, and in the last three years, only four 
nations have executed juvenile offenders: Iran, the Congo, Pakistan, 
and the United States.
  Iran, the Congo, and Pakistan are countries that are often criticized 
for human rights abuses. We should remove any grounds for charges that 
human rights violations are taking place on our own soil by halting the 
execution of people who were not even adults when they committed the 
crimes for which they were sentenced to die. No one can reasonably 
argue that executing child offenders is a normal or acceptable practice 
in the world community. And I do not think that we should be proud that 
the United States is the world leader in the execution of child 
offenders.
  As we begin a new year and another Congress, our society is still far 
from fully just. The continued use of the death penalty shames us. The 
penalty is at odds with our best traditions. It is wrong and it is 
immoral. The adage ``two wrongs do not make a right,'' applies here. 
Our nation has long ago done away with other barbaric punishments like 
whipping and cutting off the ears of suspected criminals. Just as our 
nation did away with these punishments as contrary to our humanity and 
ideals, it is time to abolish the death penalty as we seek justice in 
this new century. And it's not just a matter of morality. The continued 
viability of our justice system as a truly just system requires that we 
do so. And our Nation's striving to remain the leader and defender of 
freedom, liberty and equality demands that we do so.
  Abolishing the death penalty will not be an easy task. It will take 
patience, persistence, and courage. As we work to move forward in a 
rapidly changing world, let us leave this archaic practice behind.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in taking the first step in abolishing 
the death penalty in our great Nation. I also call on each State that 
authorizes the use of the death penalty to cease this practice. Let us 
step away from the culture of violence and restore fairness and 
integrity to our criminal justice system.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 402

       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 ``Federal Death Penalty 
     Abolition Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. REPEAL OF FEDERAL LAWS PROVIDING FOR THE DEATH 
                   PENALTY.

       (a) Homicide-Related Offenses.--
       (1) Murder related to the smuggling of aliens.--Section 
     274(a)(1)(B)(iv) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(B)(iv)) is amended by striking ``punished 
     by death or''.
       (2) Destruction of aircraft, motor vehicles, or related 
     facilities resulting in death.--Section 34 of title 18, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``to the death 
     penalty or''.
       (3) Murder committed during a drug-related drive-by 
     shooting.--Section 36(b)(2)(A) of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by striking ``death or''.
       (4) Murder committed at an airport serving international 
     civil aviation.--Section 37(a) of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended, in the matter following paragraph (2), by 
     striking ``punished by death or''.
       (5) Civil rights offenses resulting in death.--Chapter 13 
     of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (A) in section 241, by striking ``, or may be sentenced to 
     death'';
       (B) in section 242, by striking ``, or may be sentenced to 
     death'';
       (C) in section 245(b), by striking ``, or may be sentenced 
     to death''; and
       (D) in section 247(d)(1), by striking ``, or may be 
     sentenced to death''.
       (6) Murder of a member of congress, an important executive 
     official, or a supreme court justice.--Section 351 of title 
     18, United States Code, is amended--
       (A) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``death or''; and
       (B) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ``death or''.
       (7) Death resulting from offenses involving transportation 
     of explosives, destruction of government property, or 
     destruction of property related to foreign or interstate 
     commerce.--Section 844 of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (A) in subsection (d), by striking ``or to the death 
     penalty'';
       (B) in subsection (f)(3), by striking ``subject to the 
     death penalty, or'';
       (C) in subsection (i), by striking ``or to the death 
     penalty''; and
       (D) in subsection (n), by striking ``(other than the 
     penalty of death)''.
       (8) Murder committed by use of a firearm during commission 
     of a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime.--Section 
     924(j)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``by death or''.
       (9) Genocide.--Section 1091(b)(1) of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``death or''.
       (10) First degree murder.--Section 1111(b) of title 18, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``by death or''.
       (11) Murder by a federal prisoner.--Section 1118 of title 
     18, United States Code, is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``by death or''; and
       (B) in subsection (b), in the third undesignated 
     paragraph--
       (i) by inserting ``or'' before ``an indeterminate''; and
       (ii) by striking ``, or an unexecuted sentence of death''.
       (12) Murder of a state or local law enforcement official or 
     other person aiding in a federal investigation; murder of a 
     state correctional officer.--Section 1121 of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``by sentence of death 
     or''; and
       (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``or death''.
       (13) Murder during a kidnaping.--Section 1201(a) of title 
     18, United States Code, is amended by striking ``death or''.
       (14) Murder during a hostage-taking.--Section 1203(a) of 
     title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ``death 
     or''.
       (15) Murder with the intent of preventing testimony by a 
     witness, victim, or informant.--Section 1512(a)(2)(A) of 
     title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ``the 
     death penalty or''.

[[Page S2478]]

       (16) Mailing of injurious articles with intent to kill or 
     resulting in death.--Section 1716(i) of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``to the death penalty 
     or''.
       (17) Assassination or kidnaping resulting in the death of 
     the president or vice president.--Section 1751 of title 18, 
     United States Code, is amended--
       (A) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``death or''; and
       (B) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ``death or''.
       (18) Murder for hire.--Section 1958(a) of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``death or''.
       (19) Murder involved in a racketeering offense.--Section 
     1959(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``death or''.
       (20) Willful wrecking of a train resulting in death.--
     Section 1992(b) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
     by striking ``to the death penalty or''.
       (21) Bank robbery-related murder or kidnaping.--Section 
     2113(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``death or''.
       (22) Murder related to a carjacking.--Section 2119(3) of 
     title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ``, or 
     sentenced to death''.
       (23) Murder related to aggravated child sexual abuse.--
     Section 2241(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
     by striking ``unless the death penalty is imposed,''.
       (24) Murder related to sexual abuse.--Section 2245 of title 
     18, United States Code, is amended by striking ``punished by 
     death or''.
       (25) Murder related to sexual exploitation of children.--
     Section 2251(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
     by striking ``punished by death or''.
       (26) Murder committed during an offense against maritime 
     navigation.--Section 2280(a)(1) of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by striking ``punished by death or''.
       (27) Murder committed during an offense against a maritime 
     fixed platform.--Section 2281(a)(1) of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``punished by death or''.
       (28) Terrorist murder of a united states national in 
     another country.--Section 2332(a)(1) of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``death or''.
       (29) Murder by the use of a weapon of mass destruction.--
     Section 2332a of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``punished by death 
     or''; and
       (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``by death, or''.
       (30) Murder by act of terrorism transcending national 
     boundaries.--Section 2332b(c)(1)(A) of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``by death, or''.
       (31) Murder involving torture.--Section 2340A(a) of title 
     18, United States Code, is amended by striking ``punished by 
     death or''.
       (32) Murder related to a continuing criminal enterprise or 
     related murder of a federal, state, or local law enforcement 
     officer.--Section 408 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
     U.S.C. 848) is amended--
       (A) in each of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 
     (e)(1), by striking ``, or may be sentenced to death'';
       (B) by striking subsections (g) and (h) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(g) [Reserved.]
       ``(h) [Reserved.]'';
       (C) in subsection (j), by striking `` and as to 
     appropriateness in that case of imposing a sentence of 
     death'';
       (D) in subsection (k), by striking ``, other than death,'' 
     and all that follows before the period at the end and 
     inserting ``authorized by law''; and
       (E) by striking subsections (l) and (m) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(l) [Reserved.]
       ``(m) [Reserved.]''.
       (33) Death resulting from aircraft hijacking.--Section 
     46502 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ``put to death or''; 
     and
       (B) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by striking ``put to death 
     or''.
       (b) Non-Homicide Related Offenses.--
       (1) Espionage.--Section 794(a) of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by striking ``punished by death or'' and all 
     that follows before the period and inserting ``imprisoned for 
     any term of years or for life''.
       (2) Treason.--Section 2381 of title 18, United States Code, 
     is amended by striking ``shall suffer death, or''.
       (c) Repeal of Criminal Procedures Relating To Imposition of 
     Death Sentence.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 228 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is repealed.
       (2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of 
     chapters for part II of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking the item relating to chapter 228.

     SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON IMPOSITION OF DEATH SENTENCE.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, no person may be sentenced to death or put to death on 
     or after the date of enactment of this Act for any violation 
     of Federal law .
       (b) Persons Sentenced Before Date of Enactment.--
     Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person 
     sentenced to death before the date of enactment of this Act 
     for any violation of Federal law shall serve a sentence of 
     life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
                                 ______