Nearly a year ago, on January 2, 2012, eight Democrats in the House introduced a curious piece of legislation – H.R. 3741: Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2013, which seeks to abolish the death penalty under federal law. But the bill has only just been discovered by the media, notably The Hill on Dec. 16, 2013.
HR 3741 specifically prevents anyone from being sentenced to death or put to death for all federal offenses that presently would bring the death penalty. Those offenses include:
1. Homicide-related offenses:
- Murder related to the smuggling of aliens (illegal immigrants)
- Destruction of aircraft, motor vehicles, or related facilities, resulting in death.
- Murder committed during a drug-related drive-by shooting
- Murder committed at an airport serving international civil aviation
- Murder committed using chemical weapons
- Civil rights offenses relating in death
- Murder of a member of Congress, an important executive official, or a Supreme Court justice
- Death resulting from offenses involving transportation of explosives, destruction of government property, or destruction of property related to foreign or interstate commerce
- Murder committed by use of a firearm or armor piercing ammunition during commission of a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime
- Genocide
- First degree murder
- Murder by a federal prisoner
- Murder of a state or local law enforcement official or other person aiding in a federal investigation; murder of a state correctional officer
- Murder during a kidnapping
- Murder during a hostage-taking
- Murder with the intent of preventing testimony by a witness, victim, or informant
- Mailing of injurious articles with intent to kill or resulting in death
- Assassination or kidnapping resulting in the death of the president or vice-president
- Murder for hire
- Murder involved in a racketeering offense
- Willful wreckage of a train resulting in death
- Bank robbery-related murder or kidnapping
- Murder related to a carjacking
- Murder related to aggravated child sexual abuse
- Murder related to sexual exploitation of children
- Murder committed during an offense against maritime navigation
- Murder committed during an offense against a maritime fixed platform
- Murder using devices or dangerous substances in waters of the United States
- Murder involving the transportation of explosive, biological, chemical, or radioactive or nuclear materials
- Murder involving the destruction of vessel or maritime facility
- Murder of a United States national in another country
- Murder by the use of a weapon of mass destruction
- Murder by act of terrorism transcending national boundaries
- Murder involving torture
- Murder involving a war crime
- Murder related to a continuing criminal enterprise or related murder of a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer
- Death resulting from aircraft hijacking
2. Non-homicide related offenses:
- Espionage
- Treason
3. Title 10: Offenses include
- conspiracy
- desertion
- assaulting or willfully disobeying superior commissioned officer
- mutiny or sedition
- misbehavior before the enemy
- subordinate compelling surrender
- improper use of countersign
- forcing a safeguard
- aiding the enemy
- spies
- espionage
- improper hazarding of vessel
- misbehavior of sentinel
- murder
- death or injury of an unborn child
- crimes triable by military commission
HR 3741 also states: “Anyone who was already sentenced to death for a federal crime prior to the bill taking effect would have that sentence reduced to a lifetime prison sentence without any possibility of parole.”
Nothing happens in politics without a reason. Certainly, members of the United States Congress, who are more preoccupied with fundraising for their reelection than with legislating, don’t propose bills without a reason.
We must therefore ask ourselves the reason for HR 3741. Is it motivated by Altruism, the highest and most selfless form of charity?
The answer, I submit, can be found in two clues:
1. The bill stretches credulity by the sheer scope of the crimes for the elimination of death penalty as punishment, including even for such egregious acts as genocide, mutiny, sedition, murder by use of a weapon of mass destruction, not to mention assassination of the U.S. president or vice-president, and of members of Congress. If genocide doesn’t warrant the death penalty, what would? Why not just abolish the death penalty altogether?
2. The bill’s sponsors:
They are eight — a sponsor and 7 co-sponsors:
- Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), the sponsor of HR 3741.
- Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.)
- Keith Ellison (D-Minn.): the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Congress.
- Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)
- Hank Johnson (D-Ga.): the bright bulb who thinks the island of Guam would tip over because of more U.S. troops.
- John Lewis (D-Ga.)
- Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)
- José Serrano (D-N.Y.)
source: fellowshipofminds
