“A bill to make ideologically motivated crimes eligible for the death penalty.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states congressional findings that ideologically motivated crimes targeting individuals based on their political or religious beliefs undermine public safety, civil liberties, and democratic society. The section amends 18 U.S.C. 3592(c)—which lists aggravating factors authorizing the death penalty in federal sentencing for certain non-homicide offenses under 18 U.S.C. 3591(a)(2)—by adding a new factor (17) where the defendant committed the offense with the intent to (A) target the victim wholly or partly because of the victim’s actual or perceived political or religious beliefs, affiliation, expression, or activity; or (B) promote, retaliate against, influence, protest, or otherwise make a public statement concerning any political or religious belief, practice, institution, group, ideology, event, or public figure. The section further directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines manual to conform to this change.