NCJ Number
103925
Date Published
1986
Length
14 pages
Annotation
On the basis of the principle that it is a basic duty of Government to protect the innocent lives of citizens and to ensure the well-being of the Nation, Congress should enact constitutional procedures for the imposition of the death penalty in certain aggravated Federal cases.
Abstract
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the death penalty is constitutional for aggravated murder so long as the process is governed by legislative guidance that eliminates the wanton and freakish nature of the present system. Analysis of the interests protected by statutes prohibiting treason, espionage, and assasination attempts against the President supports the imposition of the death penalty for aggravated forms of these offenses. Capital punishment is an appropriate penalty not only to identify and vindicate the norms of society with respect to intolerable, predatory conduct, but to deter, justly punish, and incapacitate those who would violate those norms. 34 notes and references.