NCJ Number
84886
Date Published
1981
Length
730 pages
Annotation
Testimony on S. 114, a bill to establish constitutional procedures for the imposition of capital punishment for certain Federal offenses, presents arguments for and against capital punishment from representatives of law enforcement, the legal community, public officials, the religious community, and the general public.
Abstract
S. 114 provides for a bifurcated trial for treason, espionage, and murder. After a determination of guilty, a sentencing hearing would be held. The jury or judge would consider specified aggravating and mitigating circumstances. Upon a finding of the existence of one or more aggravating factors, the jury or judge would weigh the record as a whole in deciding whether to impose the death penalty. The decision to impose the death penalty would be subject to an accelerated appellate review. A representative of the Justice Department voices his department's general support for the bill based upon the belief that the offenses identified in the bill, which involve either extreme danger to the national security and survival or the unauthorized taking of a human life, warrant the death penalty. A representative of the International Association of Chiefs of Police also expresses support for the bill, based on the belief that capital punishment deters the commission of the heinous crimes identified and that it expresses the seriousness with which society views the commission of such crimes. Representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and other groups oppose the imposition of the death penalty for reasons that include its failure to uphold the principle of respect for human life, its ineffectiveness in deterring crime, and the fallibility and bias of justice institutions in imposing it. For individual entries, see NCJ 84887-92.