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| Long title | To abolish the death penalty under Federal law. |
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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.
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.
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]
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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned practice of killing a person as a punishment for a crime, usually following an authorised, rule-governed process to conclude that the person is responsible for violating norms that warrant said punishment. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence, and the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is condemned and is commonly referred to as being "on death row". Etymologically, the term capital refers to execution by beheading, but executions are carried out by many methods, including hanging, shooting, lethal injection, stoning, electrocution, and gassing.
Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as a punishment for a crime. It has historically been used in almost every part of the world. Since the mid-19th century many countries have abolished or discontinued the practice. In 2022, the 5 countries that executed the most people were, in descending order, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States.
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used within the British Isles from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and took place in 1964; capital punishment for murder was suspended in 1965 and finally abolished in 1969. Although unused, the death penalty remained a legally defined punishment for certain offences such as treason until it was completely abolished in 1998; the last execution for treason took place in 1946. In 2004, Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights became binding on the United Kingdom; it prohibits the restoration of the death penalty as long as the UK is a party to the convention.
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 19 states currently have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other 8, as well as the federal government and military, being subject to different types of moratoriums.
Capital punishment is a legal punishment under the criminal justice system of the United States federal government. It is the most serious punishment that could be imposed under federal law. The serious crimes that warrant this punishment include treason, espionage, murder, large-scale drug trafficking, or attempted murder of a witness, juror, or court officer in certain cases.
Capital punishment was abolished via the legislative process on May 2, 2013, in the U.S. state of Maryland.
Capital punishment in Canada dates back to Canada's earliest history, including its period as a French colony and, after 1763, its time as a British colony. From 1867 to the elimination of the death penalty for murder on July 26, 1976, 1,481 people had been sentenced to death, and 710 had been executed. Of those executed, 697 were men and 13 women. The only method used in Canada for capital punishment of civilians after the end of the French regime was hanging. The last execution in Canada was the double hanging of Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin on December 11, 1962, at Toronto's Don Jail. The National Defence Act prescribed the death penalty for certain military offences until 1999, although no military executions had been carried out since 1946.
Capital punishment was abolished in 2019 in New Hampshire for persons convicted of capital murder. It remains a legal penalty for crimes committed prior to May 30, 2019.
Capital punishment – the process of sentencing convicted offenders to death for the most serious crimes and carrying out that sentence, as ordered by a legal system – first appeared in New Zealand in a codified form when New Zealand became a British colony in 1840. It was first carried out with a public hanging in Victoria Street, Auckland in 1842, while the last execution occurred in 1957 at Mount Eden Prison, also in Auckland. In total, 85 people have been lawfully executed in New Zealand.
Capital punishment was abolished in Virginia on March 24, 2021, when Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill into law. The law took effect on July 1, 2021. Virginia is the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, and the first southern state in United States history to do so.
Capital punishment in the Philippines specifically, the death penalty, as a form of state-sponsored repression, was introduced and widely practiced by the Spanish government in the Philippines. A substantial number of Filipino national martyrs like Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite, Thirteen Martyrs of Bagumbayan, Fifteen Martyrs of Bicol, Nineteen Martyrs of Aklan and Jose Rizal were executed by the Spanish government.
Capital punishment in Australia has been abolished in all jurisdictions since 1985. Queensland abolished the death penalty in 1922. Tasmania did the same in 1968. The Commonwealth abolished the death penalty in 1973, with application also in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Victoria did so in 1975, South Australia in 1976, and Western Australia in 1984. New South Wales abolished the death penalty for murder in 1955, and for all crimes in 1985. In 2010, the Commonwealth Parliament passed legislation prohibiting the re-establishment of capital punishment by any state or territory. Australian law prohibits the extradition or deportation of a prisoner to another jurisdiction if they could be sentenced to death for any crime.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Malaysian law.
Capital punishment in the Republic of Ireland was abolished in statute law in 1990, having been abolished in 1964 for most offences including ordinary murder. The last person to be executed was Michael Manning, hanged for murder in 1954. All subsequent death sentences in the Republic of Ireland, the last handed down in 1985, were commuted by the President, on the advice of the Government, to terms of imprisonment of up to 40 years. The Twenty-first Amendment to the constitution, passed by referendum in 2001, prohibits the reintroduction of the death penalty, even during a state of emergency or war. Capital punishment is also forbidden by several human rights treaties to which the state is a party.
Capital punishment was abolished in Colorado in 2020. It was legal from 1974 until 2020 prior to it being abolished in all future cases.
Capital punishment was outlawed in the State of New York after the New York Court of Appeals declared it was not allowed under the state's constitution in 2004. However certain crimes occurring in the state that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government are subject to the federal death penalty.
Capital punishment in New Jersey is currently abolished, after Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine signed a law repealing it in 2007. Before this, capital punishment was used and at least 361 people have been executed.
Capital punishment is abolished in the District of Columbia. However, a number of executions were carried out under the District's jurisdiction before abolition. These executions should be distinguished from cases such as the 1942 execution of the six Nazi saboteurs which took place in the District, but under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government.
Capital punishment has been abolished in Iowa since 1965. Forty-five men were executed by hanging in Iowa between 1834 and 1963 for crimes including murder, rape, and robbery.
Capital punishment is no longer a legal punishment in Rwanda. The death penalty was abolished in the country in 2007.