Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act

Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2023
Long title	To abolish the death penalty under Federal law.
Legislative history
	Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 97 by Adriano Espaillat (D–NY) on February 21, 2023; Committee consideration by Armed Services, Judiciary;

The Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act is a proposed United States law that would abolish the death penalty for all federal crimes and all military crimes. If enacted, this act would mark the first time since 1988 where no federal crimes carry a sentence of death.

This bill would repeal capital punishment on the federal level but would not affect the possibility for states to provide for it in state law.

History

Since the enactment of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, the death penalty has been a legal punishment for United States federal crimes in the post Furman era. Since then, the federal government has executed sixteen individuals, with thirteen of those executions occurring between July 2020 and January 2021.^[1]

Motivation for the introduction and support for the passage and enactment of this bill have been influenced by the criminal justice reform movement, the George Floyd protests, and the thirteen people executed during the Trump administration between July 2020 and January 2021, among other things. President Joe Biden’s campaign website has stated that Biden supports abolishing the death penalty on the federal level and to incentivize states to also abolish the death penalty for crimes within their jurisdiction.^[2] Biden is the first president to openly oppose the death penalty, despite previous support as a U.S. Senator (1973-2009) from Delaware.^[3]

Bills to abolish the federal death penalty have been introduced in each Congress since 1999, but no legislation has passed.

Provisions

The bill proposes the removal of all references to capital punishment as it pertains to federal crimes and sentencing law, abolishing the ability for the United States to impose a sentence of death in the process.^[4]

Legislative history

As of January 5, 2024:

Congress	Short title	Bill number(s)	Date introduced	Sponsor(s)	# of cosponsors	Latest status
106th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 1999	S. 1917	November 10, 1999	Russell Feingold (D-WI)	1	Died in Committee.
107th congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2001	S. 191	January 25, 2001	Russell Feingold (D-WI)	1	Died in Committee.
108th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2003	H.R. 2574	June 24, 2003	Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)	46	Died in Committee.
108th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2003	S. 402	February 13, 2003	Russell Feingold (D-WI)	0	Died in Committee.
109th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act	H.R. 4923	March 9, 2006	Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)	45	Died in Committee.
109th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2005	S. 122	January 24, 2005	Russell Feingold (D-WI)	0	Died in Committee.
110th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2008	H.R. 6875	September 11, 2008	Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)	19	Died in Committee.
110th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2007	S. 447	January 31, 2007	Russell Feingold (D-WI)	0	Died in Committee.
111th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2009	S. 650	March 19, 2009	Russell Feingold (D-WI)	0	Died in Committee.
112th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2011	H.R. 3051	September 23, 2011	Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)	15	Died in Committee.
113th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2013	H.R. 3741	December 12, 2013	Donna Edwards (D-MD)	13	Died in Committee.
116th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2019	H.R. 4022	July 25, 2019	Adriano Espaillat (D-NY)	67	Died in Committee.
117th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2021	H.R. 97	January 4, 2021	Adriano Espaillat (D-NY)	85	Died in Committee.
	Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act	H.R. 262	January 11, 2021	Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)	79	Died in Committee.
	Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act	S. 582	March 3, 2021	Richard Durbin (D-IL)	20	Died in Committee.
118th Congress	Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2023	H.R. 1124	February 21, 2023	Adriano Espaillat (D-NY)	27	Referred to Committees of Jurisdiction

References

^ "Executions Under the Federal Death Penalty". Death Penalty Information Center. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
^ "THE BIDEN PLAN FOR STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE". Democratic National Committee. Archived from the original on March 28, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
^ "Civil rights groups are pushing Biden to fulfill promise of ending the death penalty". CNBC. February 17, 2021. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
^ "H.R.97 - Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2021". March 2021. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.

[1] "Executions Under the Federal Death Penalty". Death Penalty Information Center. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.

[2] "THE BIDEN PLAN FOR STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE". Democratic National Committee. Archived from the original on March 28, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.

[3] "Civil rights groups are pushing Biden to fulfill promise of ending the death penalty". CNBC. February 17, 2021. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.

[4] "H.R.97 - Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2021". March 2021. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

History

Provisions

Legislative history

See also

References