Capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
is a legal penalty under the criminal justice system of the
United States federal government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 ...
. It can be imposed for treason, espionage, murder, large-scale drug trafficking, or attempted murder of a witness, juror, or court officer in certain cases.
The federal government imposes and carries out a small minority of the death sentences in the U.S., with the vast majority being applied by state governments. The
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
(BOP) manages the housing and execution of federal
death row
Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...
prisoners.
In practice, the federal government rarely carries out executions. As a result of the Supreme Court opinion in ''
Furman v. Georgia
''Furman v. Georgia'', 408 U.S. 238 (1972), was a landmark criminal case in which the United States Supreme Court invalidated all then existing legal constructions for the death penalty in the United States. It was 5–4 decision, with each mem ...
'' in 1972, the federal death penalty was suspended from law until its reinstatement by Congress in 1988. No federal executions occurred between 1972 and 2001. From 2001 to 2003, three people were executed by the federal government. No further federal executions occurred from March 18, 2003, up to July 14, 2020, when they resumed under President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, during which
13 death row inmates were executed in the last 6 months of his presidency. Since January 16, 2021 no further executions have been performed. On July 1, 2021, U.S. Attorney General
Merrick Garland
Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...
placed a moratorium on all federal executions pending review of policy and procedures. There are 44 offenders remaining on federal death row.
History
The
Crimes Act of 1790
The Crimes Act of 1790 (or the Federal Criminal Code of 1790), formally titled ''An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes Against the United States'', defined some of the first federal crimes in the United States and expanded on the crimin ...
defined some capital offenses: treason, murder, robbery, piracy, mutiny, hostility against the United States, counterfeiting, and aiding the escape of a capital prisoner. The first federal execution was that of Thomas Bird on June 25, 1790, due to his committing "murder on the high seas".
[History - Historical Federal Executions ]
" U.S. Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...
. Retrieved on July 20, 2016.
The use of the death penalty in
U.S. territories
Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...
was handled by federal judges and the
U.S. Marshal Service
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...
.
Historically, members of the U.S. Marshals Service conducted all federal executions.
Pre-''Furman'' executions by the federal government were normally carried out within the prison system of the state in which the crime was committed. Only in cases where the crime was committed in a territory, the District of Columbia, or a state without the death penalty was it the norm for the court to designate the state in which the death penalty would be carried out, as the federal prison system did not have an execution facility.
The last pre-''Furman'' federal execution took place on March 15, 1963, when
Victor Feguer
Victor Harry Feguer (1935 – March 15, 1963) was a convicted murderer and the last federal inmate executed in the United States before the moratorium on the death penalty following ''Furman v. Georgia'', and the last person put to death in ...
was executed for kidnapping and murder, after President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
denied clemency.
Capital punishment was halted in 1972 after the ''
Furman v. Georgia
''Furman v. Georgia'', 408 U.S. 238 (1972), was a landmark criminal case in which the United States Supreme Court invalidated all then existing legal constructions for the death penalty in the United States. It was 5–4 decision, with each mem ...
'' decision but was once again permitted under the ''
Gregg v. Georgia
''Gregg v. Georgia'', ''Proffitt v. Florida'', ''Jurek v. Texas'', ''Woodson v. North Carolina'', and ''Roberts v. Louisiana'', 428 U.S. 153 (1976), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. It reaffirmed the Court's acceptance of the use ...
'' decision in 1976.
In the late 1980s, Senator
Alfonse D'Amato
Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American politician born in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He served as United States Senator for New York between 1981 and 1999. He subsequently founded a lobbying firm, Park Strategies.
...
, from
New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
, sponsored a bill to make certain federal drug crimes eligible for the death penalty as he was frustrated by the lack of a death penalty in his home state.
[Greenblatt, Alan.]
Death From Washington
" ''Governing
Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, social norm, norms, power (social and political), power or language of an organized society over a social system (family, tribe, formal organization, formal or informal organization, a ...
''. May 2007. Retrieved on June 5, 2016. The
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (, ) is a major law of the War on Drugs passed by the U.S. Congress which did several significant things:
# Created the policy goal of a drug-free America;
# Established the Office of National Drug Control Policy; ...
restored the death penalty under federal law for drug offenses and some types of murder. President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
signed the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, commonly referred to as the 1994 Crime Bill, the Clinton Crime Bill, or the Biden Crime Law, is an Act of Congress dealing with crime and law enforcement; it became law in 1994. It is t ...
, expanding the federal death penalty in 1994. In response to the
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...
, the
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), , was introduced to the United States Congress in April 1995 as a Senate Bill (). The bill was passed with broad bipartisan support by Congress in response to the bombings of th ...
was passed in 1996.
Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute
The Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute (FCC Terre Haute) is a United States federal prison complex for male inmates in Indiana; much of the complex grounds is in Terre Haute, though portions are in unincorporated Vigo County. It is operat ...
became the only federal prison to execute people and one of only three prisons to hold federally condemned people.
The federal death penalty applies even in areas without a state death penalty since federal criminal law is the same for the entire country and is enforced by federal courts, rather than by state courts. From 1988 to October 2019,
federal juries gave death sentences to eight convicts in places without a state death penalty when the crime was committed and tried.
The federal death penalty is also applicable for any crime involving the killing of a
United States national
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
even if such killing occurred outside of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third o ...
was executed on June 11, 2001, for his involvement in the
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...
, where 168 people were killed. The first federal execution since 1963, it was broadcast on a closed circuit-television to survivors and victims' families.
Most of the federal death row inmates are imprisoned at
Federal Correctional Complex in
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
. , aside from those at Terre Haute, two male death row inmates,
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
Dzhokhar "Jahar" Anzorovich Tsarnaev born July 22, 1993)russian: Джоха́р Анзо́рович Царна́ев, link=no ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант ДжовхӀар o; ( Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz: Жохар Анзор уу ...
and
Kaboni Savage
Kaboni Savage (born January 1, 1975) is an American drug dealer, organized crime leader, and murderer who is currently on federal death row for ordering the firebombing of a house where a federal witness lived, killing six people (including four c ...
, are held at
ADX Florence
The United States Penitentiary, Florence Administrative Maximum Facility (USP Florence ADMAX), commonly known as ADX Florence, is an American federal prison in Fremont County near Florence, Colorado. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Pris ...
. Three people have had their sentences commuted to life in prison: one by President Bill Clinton in 2001, and two in 2017 by President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, who commuted one death sentence handed down by a federal district court and another issued by a court-martial.
Since 2019
On July 25, 2019, U.S. Attorney General
William Barr
William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump.
Born and raised in New York City, Barr ...
announced that the federal government would resume executions using
pentobarbital
Pentobarbital (previously known as pentobarbitone in Britain and Australia) is a short-acting barbiturate typically used as a sedative, a preanesthetic, and to control convulsions in emergencies. It can also be used for short-term treatment of ...
, rather than the three-drug cocktail previously used.
The Bureau of Prisons' acting director then scheduled 5 convicted death row inmates to be executed in December 2019 and January 2020.
However, on November 20, 2019, U.S. District Judge
Tanya S. Chutkan
Tanya Sue Chutkan (born July 5, 1962) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Biography
Chutkan was born on July 5, 1962, in Kingston, Jamaica. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree ...
issued a preliminary injunction preventing the resumption of federal executions, because the plaintiffs in the case argued that the use of pentobarbital alone violated the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994.
The injunction was upheld by the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...
and, on December 6, 2019, by the United States Supreme Court, but it told the court of appeals to rule on the case "with appropriate dispatch". Justices
Alito,
Gorsuch, and
Kavanaugh wrote that they believed the government would ultimately win the case and that they would have set a 60-day deadline for the court of appeals to finalize it. In January 2020, the Justice Department argued to the appeals court that when Congress declared that federal executions must be carried out "in the manner prescribed by the state" where inmates were convicted, it was referring to the general method of execution allowed in states, such as lethal injection, rather than the specific drugs to be used.
In July 2020, the first federal execution under the
presidency of Donald Trump
Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...
was carried out, the first after a 17-year hiatus. Overall, thirteen federal prisoners were executed between July 2020 and January 2021, including the first woman executed by the federal government in 67 years.
The Boston Marathon bomber
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
Dzhokhar "Jahar" Anzorovich Tsarnaev born July 22, 1993)russian: Джоха́р Анзо́рович Царна́ев, link=no ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант ДжовхӀар o; ( Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz: Жохар Анзор уу ...
was sentenced to death on June 24, 2015, for his role in the terrorist attack of the
2013 Boston Marathon bombings, but that sentence was vacated by a federal appeals court on July 31, 2020. Following a Supreme Court decision, the sentence was reinstated on March 4, 2022.
It is the intention of Senator
Dick Durbin
Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate Dem ...
and Representative
Ayanna Pressley
Ayanna Soyini Pressley (born February 3, 1974) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district since 2019. This district includes the northern three quarters of Boston, most of Ca ...
to introduce legislation in the
117th Congress
The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...
to discontinue the federal death penalty.
Durbin and Pressley cited wrongful convictions and
racial disparities as partial justification for their effort.
Democrats introduced the
Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2021 on January 4, 2021. The bill is currently before the
House Judiciary Committee.
Legal process
Sentencing
In the federal system, the final decision to seek the death penalty rests with the
United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
. This differs from states, where local prosecutors have the final say with no involvement from the state attorney general.
The sentence is decided by the jury and must be unanimous.
Sentences of death handed down by a
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...
cannot be rejected by the judge.
In case of a
hung jury
A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again.
...
during the penalty phase of the trial, a life sentence is issued, even if a single juror opposed death (there is no retrial).
Appeals and clemency
While death row inmates sentenced by state governments may appeal to both state courts and federal courts, federal death row inmates have to appeal directly to federal courts.
The power of clemency and pardon belongs to the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
.
Method
The method of execution of federal prisoners for offenses under the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, commonly referred to as the 1994 Crime Bill, the Clinton Crime Bill, or the Biden Crime Law, is an Act of Congress dealing with crime and law enforcement; it became law in 1994. It is ...
is that of the state in which the conviction took place. If the state has no death penalty, the judge must select a state with the death penalty for carrying out the execution.
The federal government has a facility and regulations only for executions by lethal injection, but the
United States Code
In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...
allows
U.S. Marshals
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...
to use state facilities and employees for federal executions.
Federal executions by lethal injection occur at the
United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute
The United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute (USP Terre Haute) is a maximum-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Terre Haute, Indiana. It is part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute (FCC Terre Haute) and is operat ...
.
Pre-''
Furman'' federal executions were often conducted by
hanging
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
or
electrocution
Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death.
The term "electrocution" was coined ...
, and less commonly by
cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
gas
Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma).
A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
.
Presidential assassins
Four Presidents of the United States were slain by assassins while in office. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was tried by a
military commission based on the military nature of the conspiracy. Charles Guiteau's trial was held in a civilian court of the District of Columbia where the assassination of James Garfield happened.
The assassin of
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
,
Leon Czolgosz
Leon Frank Czolgosz ( , ; May 5, 1873 – October 29, 1901) was an American laborer and anarchist who assassinated President William McKinley on September 6, 1901, in Buffalo, New York. The president died on September 14 after his wound became ...
, was tried and executed for murder by New York state authorities. The accused assassin of
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
,
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.
Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...
, would presumably have been tried for murder by
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
state authorities had he not been killed two days later by
Jack Ruby
Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of th ...
in the basement of the
Dallas Municipal Building
The Dallas Municipal Building is a Dallas Landmark located along S. Harwood Street between Main and Commerce Street in the Main Street District of downtown Dallas, Texas that served as the city's fourth City Hall. The structure is also a Recorded ...
(then
Dallas Police Department
The Dallas Police Department, established in 1881, is the principal law enforcement agency serving the city of Dallas, Texas.
Organization
The department is headed by a chief of police who is appointed by the city manager who, in turn, is hir ...
headquarters) while being transferred to the county jail. (Ruby himself was initially tried and convicted of murder in a Texas state court, but that
was overturned by the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight judges.
Article V of ...
and he died before he could be retried.) Only after Kennedy's death was it made a federal crime to murder the President of the United States.
Military executions
The United States military has executed 135 people since 1916. The most recent person to be executed by the military is U.S. Army Private
John A. Bennett
John Arthur Bennett (April 10, 1936 – April 13, 1961) was a U.S. Army soldier who remains the last person to be executed after a court-martial by the United States Armed Forces. The 19-year-old private was convicted of the rape and attempted ...
, executed on April 13, 1961, for child rape and attempted murder. Since the end of the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
in 1865, only one person has been executed for a purely military offense: Private
Eddie Slovik
Edward Donald Slovik (February 18, 1920January 31, 1945) was a United States Army soldier during World War II and the only American soldier to be court-martialled and executed for desertion since the American Civil War. Although over 21,000 Amer ...
, who was executed on January 31, 1945, after being convicted of desertion.
For offenses related to their service, members of the military are usually tried in
courts-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
that apply the
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution ...
(UCMJ) and may order the death penalty as a possible sentence for some crimes. Military commissions may also be established in the field in time of war to expeditiously try and sentence enemy military personnel under the UCMJ for certain offenses.
Controversially, the
Military Commissions Act of 2009
The Military Commissions Act of 2009, which amended the Military Commissions Act of 2006, was passed to address concerns by the United States Supreme Court.
In ''Boumediene v. Bush'' (2008) the court had ruled that the Military Commissions Act ...
allows military commissions to try and sentence alien unprivileged enemy belligerent
accused of having engaged in or purposefully and materially support
dhostilities against the United States or its allies, without the benefit of some UCMJ protections.
In a military commission trial, the death penalty may only be imposed in case of a unanimous verdict and sentencing decision.
See also
*
*
*
Crime in the United States
Crime in the United States has been recorded since its founding. Crime rates have varied over time, with a sharp rise after 1900 and reaching a broad bulging peak between the 1970s and early 1990s. After 1992, crime rates began to fall year by ye ...
*
Law of the United States
The law of the United States comprises many levels of Codification (law), codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution of the United States, Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the ...
References
Further reading
; Texts of relevant laws
Using a chemical weapon where the use causes death
Using a weapon of mass destruction where the use causes death Killing a member of the Congress, the Cabinet or Supreme Court, Kidnapping a member of the Congress, the Cabinet or Supreme Court resulting in death and Conspiracy to kill a member of the Congress, the Cabinet or Supreme Court resulting in deathUsing an explosive device resulting in deathCausing death using an illegal firearmGenocide where death resultsCarjacking resulting in deathMailing explosive substances resulting in deathWillful destruction of aircraft or motor vehicles resulting in deathCausing death by aircraft hijacking or any attempt to commit aircraft hijackingCausing death by kidnappingCausing death by hostage takingFirst degree murder within the special territorial and maritime jurisdiction of the United StatesMurder by a federal prisoner already sentenced to life imprisonment
Murder by an escaped federal prisoner already sentenced to life imprisonmentMurder of a court officer or jurorMurder with the intent of preventing testimony by a witness, victim, or informantRetaliatory murder of a witness, victim, or informantKilling the President, the Vice President, or a member of the presidential staff; Kidnapping the President, the Vice President, or a member of the presidential staff resulting in death; and Conspiracy to kill the President, the Vice President, or a member of the presidential staff resulting in death
Killing persons aiding Federal investigations; Killing of state correctional officers by a federal inmate or during interstate transportWillful wrecking of a train resulting in deathSexual abuse resulting in deathSexual exploitation of children resulting in deathTorture resulting in deathDeath resulting from violence at an international civil airportMurder of a U.S. national in an act of terrorism committed in another countryDeath resulting from an act of terrorism transcending national boundariesDeath resulting from use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission or preparation of murder-for-hireLarge-scale drug trafficking
Attempting, authorizing or advising the killing of any officer, juror, or witness in cases involving a Continuing Criminal Enterprise, whether such killing occurs or not
* Crime against civil rights or conspiracy to do so, resulting in death, involving kidnapping, or involving rape:
Conspiracy against rights
Deprivation of rights under color of law
Federally protected activities
Damage to religious property; obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefsEspionageTreason
External links
* https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/original_spencer_report.pdf
{{CapPun-US
Capital punishment by the United States federal government
Capital punishment is a legal penalty under the criminal justice system of the United States federal government. It can be imposed for treason, espionage, murder, large-scale drug trafficking, or attempted murder of a witness, juror, or court ...
Capital punishment by the United States federal government
Capital punishment is a legal penalty under the criminal justice system of the United States federal government. It can be imposed for treason, espionage, murder, large-scale drug trafficking, or attempted murder of a witness, juror, or court ...
Capital punishment by the United States federal government
Capital punishment is a legal penalty under the criminal justice system of the United States federal government. It can be imposed for treason, espionage, murder, large-scale drug trafficking, or attempted murder of a witness, juror, or court ...