“A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, relating to sentencing of armed career criminals.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section amends criminal penalties for firearms violations under 18 U.S.C. 924 by (1) revising subsection (a)(2) to expand the list of knowing violations of specified provisions of section 922 punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment to include 922(d) (previously subject to up to 5 years under subsection (a)(1)) and, except as provided in subsection (e), 922(g); and (2) replacing subsection (e), the Armed Career Criminal Act enhancement applicable to prohibited persons in possession of firearms or ammunition under 922(g), with a new provision that imposes a mandatory minimum of 15 years and maximum of 30 years imprisonment (previously minimum 15 years to life) on those with three or more previous serious felony convictions committed on different occasions, with no suspension of sentence or probation permitted. Subsection (e)(2) defines "offense punishable by imprisonment for a statutory maximum term of not less than 10 years" based on the statutory maximum range regardless of actual sentence imposed and "serious felony conviction" as (A) a felony punishable by a statutory maximum of at least 10 years at sentencing or (B) any group of convictions imposed in the same or consolidated proceedings with a total term of at least 10 years. (Thus, 922(g) violations without three prior serious felony convictions are subject to up to 10 years under revised (a)(2), while qualifying cases receive the enhanced 15-to-30-year mandatory minimum-maximum under (e).)
This section specifies that the amendments made by this Act apply to offenses committed after the date of enactment by an individual who, at the time of the offense, has three or more previous serious felony convictions as defined in 18 U.S.C. 924(e), as amended by this Act. This section states that the Act and its amendments do not create a right to challenge any sentence imposed under 18 U.S.C. 924(e) (i.e., the Armed Career Criminal Act, which mandates a 15-year minimum prison term for certain prohibited persons possessing a firearm).