‘‘§ 3596. Implementation of a sentence of death
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A person who has been sen-
tenced to death pursuant to the provisions of this chapter
shall be committed to the custody of the Attorney General
until exhaustion of the procedures for appeal of the judg-
ment of conviction and for review of the sentence. When
the sentence is to be implemented, the Attorney General
shall release the person sentenced to death to the custody
of a United States Marshal, who shall supervise implemen-
tation of the sentence in the manner prescribed by the law
of the State in which the sentence is imposed. If the law
of such State does not provide for implementation of a
sentence of death, the court shall designate another State,
the law of which does so provide, and the sentence shall
be implemented in the manner prescribed by such law.
‘‘(b) SPECIAL BARS TO EXECUTION.—A sentence of
death shall not be carried out upon a person who lacks
the mental capacity to understand the death penalty and
why it was imposed on that person, or upon a woman while
she is pregnant.
‘‘(c) EMPLOYEES MAY DECLINE TO PARTICIPATE.—
No employee of any State department of corrections, the
Federal Bureau of Prisons, or the United States Marshals
Service, and no employee providing services to that depart-
ment, bureau, or service under contract shall be required,
as a condition of that employment or contractual obliga-
tion, to be in attendance at or to participate in any execu-
tion carried out under this section if such participation
is contrary to the moral or religious convictions of the em-
ployee. For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘partici-
pate in any execution’ includes personal preparation of the
condemned individual and the apparatus used for the exe-
cution, and supervision of the activities of other personnel
in carrying out such activities.
‘‘§ 3597. Use of State facilities
‘‘A United States Marshal charged with supervising
the implementation of a sentence of death may use appro-
priate State or local facilities for the purpose, may use
the services of an appropriate State or local official or of
a person such an official employs for the purpose, and
shall pay the costs thereof in an amount approved by the
Attorney General.
‘‘§ 3598. Appointment of counsel
‘‘(a) REPRESENTATION
OF
INDIGENT
DEFEND-
ANTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this
section shall govern the appointment of counsel for any
defendant against whom a sentence of death is sought,
or on whom a sentence of death has been imposed, for
an offense against the United States, where the defendant
is or becomes financially unable to obtain adequate rep-
resentation. Such a defendant shall be entitled to appoint-
ment of counsel from the commencement of trial proceed-
ings until one of the conditions specified in section
3599(b) of this title has occurred.
‘‘(b) REPRESENTATION BEFORE FINALITY OF JUDG-
MENT.—A defendant within the scope of this section shall
have counsel appointed for trial representation as provided
in section 3005 of this title. At least one counsel so ap-
pointed shall continue to represent the defendant until the
conclusion of direct review of the judgment, unless re-
placed by the court with other qualified counsel.
‘‘(c) REPRESENTATION AFTER FINALITY OF JUDG-
MENT.—When a judgment imposing a sentence of death
has become final through affirmance by the Supreme
Court on direct review, denial of certiorari by the Supreme
Court on direct review, or expiration of the time for seek-
ing direct review in the court of appeals or the Supreme
Court, the Government shall promptly notify the district
court that imposed the sentence. Within ten days of re-
ceipt of such notice, the district court shall proceed to
make a determination whether the defendant is eligible
under this section for appointment of counsel for subse-
quent proceedings. On the basis of the determination, the
court shall issue an order—
‘‘(1) appointing one or more counsel to rep-
resent the defendant upon a finding that the defend-
ant is financially unable to obtain adequate rep-
resentation and wishes to have counsel appointed or
is unable competently to decide whether to accept or
reject appointment of counsel;
‘‘(2) finding, after a hearing if necessary, that
the defendant rejected appointment of counsel and
made the decision with an understanding of its legal
consequences; or
‘‘(3) denying the appointment of counsel upon
a finding that the defendant is financially able to ob-
tain adequate representation.
Counsel appointed pursuant to this subsection shall be dif-
ferent from the counsel who represented the defendant at
trial and on direct review unless the defendant and counsel
request a continuation or renewal of the earlier represen-
tation.
‘‘(d) STANDARDS FOR COMPETENCE OF COUNSEL.—
In relation to a defendant who is entitled to appointment
of counsel under this section, at least one counsel ap-
pointed for trial representation must have been admitted
to the bar for at least five years and have at least three
years of experience in the trial of felony cases in the fed-
eral district courts. If new counsel is appointed after judg-
ment, at least one counsel so appointed must have been
admitted to the bar for at least five years and have at
least three years of experience in the litigation of felony
cases in the Federal courts of appeals or the Supreme
Court. The court, for good cause, may appoint counsel
who does not meet these standards, but whose back-
ground, knowledge, or experience would otherwise enable
him or her to properly represent the defendant, with due
consideration of the seriousness of the penalty and the na-
ture of the litigation.
‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT.—
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions
of section 3006A of this title shall apply to appointments
under this section.
‘‘(f) CLAIMS OF INEFFECTIVENESS OF COUNSEL.—
The ineffectiveness or incompetence of counsel during pro-
ceedings on a motion under section 2255 of title 28, Unit-
ed States Code, in a capital case shall not be a ground
for relief from the judgment or sentence in any proceed-
ing. This limitation shall not preclude the appointment of
different counsel at any stage of the proceedings.
‘‘§ 3599. Collateral attack on judgment imposing sen-
tence of death
‘‘(a) TIME FOR MAKING SECTION 2255 MOTION.—
In a case in which sentence of death has been imposed,
and the judgment has become final as described in section
3598(c) of this title, a motion in the case under section
2255 of title 28, United States Code, must be filed within
ninety days of the issuance of the order relating to ap-
pointment of counsel under section 3598(c) of this title.
The court in which the motion is filed, for good cause
shown, may extend the time for filing for a period not
exceeding sixty days. A motion described in this section
shall have priority over all noncapital matters in the dis-
trict court, and in the court of appeals on review of the
district court’s decision.
‘‘(b) STAY OF EXECUTION.—The execution of a sen-
tence of death shall be stayed in the course of direct review
of the judgment and during the litigation of an initial mo-
tion in the case under section 2255 of title 28, United
States Code. The stay shall run continuously following im-
position of the sentence, and shall expire if—
‘‘(1) the defendant fails to file a motion under
section 2255 of title 28, United States Code, within
the time specified in subsection (a), or fails to make
a timely application for court of appeals review fol-
lowing the denial of such motion by a district court;
or
‘‘(2) upon completion of district court and court
of appeals review under section 2255 of title 28,
United States Code, the motion under that section
is denied and (A) the time for filing a petition for
certiorari has expired and no petition has been filed;
(B) a timely petition for certiorari was filed and the
Supreme Court denied the petition; or (C) a timely
petition for certiorari was filed and upon consider-
ation of the case, the Supreme Court disposed of it
in a manner that left the capital sentence undis-
turbed; or
‘‘(3) before a district court, in the presence of
counsel and after having been advised of the con-
sequences of his decision, the defendant waives the
right to file a motion under section 2255 of title 28.
‘‘(c) FINALITY OF THE DECISION ON REVIEW.—If
one of the conditions specified in subsection (b) has oc-
curred, no court thereafter shall have the authority to
enter a stay of execution or grant relief in the case un-
less—
‘‘(1) the basis for the stay and request for relief
is a claim not presented in earlier proceedings;
‘‘(2) the failure to raise the claim was (A) the
result of governmental action in violation of the Con-
stitution or laws of the United States; (B) the result
of the Supreme Court recognition of a new Federal
right that is retroactively applicable; or (C) based on
a factual predicate that could not have been discov-
ered through the exercise of reasonable diligence in
time to present the claim in earlier proceedings; and
‘‘(3) the facts underlying the claim would be
sufficient, if proven, to undermine the court’s con-
fidence in the determination of guilt on the offense
or offenses for which the death penalty was imposed.
‘‘§ 3600. Application in Indian country
‘‘Notwithstanding sections 1152 and 1153 of this
title, no person subject to the criminal jurisdiction of an
Indian tribal government shall be subject to a capital sen-
tence under this chapter for any offense the Federal juris-
diction for which is predicated solely on Indian country
as defined in section 1151 of this title and which has oc-
curred within the boundaries of such Indian country, un-
less the governing body of the tribe has made an election
that this chapter have effect over land and persons subject
to its criminal jurisdiction.’’; and
(2) in the table of chapters at the beginning of
part II, by adding the following new item after the
item relating to chapter 227:
‘‘228. Death penalty procedures ................................................... 3591.’’.
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO DE-
STRUCTION OF AIRCRAFT OR AIRCRAFT FA-
CILITIES.
Section 34 of title 18, United States Code, is amend-
ed by changing the comma after the words ‘‘imprisonment
for life’’ to a period and deleting the remainder of the sec-
tion.
SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO ESPIO-
NAGE.
Section 794(a) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by changing the period at the end of the section
to a comma and by adding immediately thereafter the fol-
lowing: ‘‘except that the sentence of death shall not be
imposed unless the jury or, if there is no jury, the court,
further finds beyond a reasonable doubt at a hearing
under section 3593 of this title that the offense directly
concerned nuclear weaponry, military spacecraft and sat-
ellites, early warning systems, or other means of defense
or retaliation against large-scale attack; war plans; com-
munications intelligence or cryptographic information;
sources or methods of intelligence or counterintelligence
operations; or any other major weapons system or major
element of defense strategy.’’.
SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO TRANS-
PORTING EXPLOSIVES.
Section 844(d) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by striking ‘‘as provided in section 34 of this
title’’.
SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO MALI-
CIOUS DESTRUCTION OF FEDERAL PROP-
ERTY BY EXPLOSIVES.
Section 844(f) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by striking ‘‘as provided in section 34 of this
title’’.
SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO MALI-
CIOUS DESTRUCTION OF INTERSTATE PROP-
ERTY BY EXPLOSIVES.
Section 844(i) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by striking ‘‘as provided in section 34 of this
title’’.
SEC. 8. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO MURDER.
The second paragraph of section 1111(b) of title 18,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘Whoever is guilty of murder in the first degree shall
be punished by death or by imprisonment for life;’’.
SEC. 9. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO KILLING
OFFICIAL 
GUESTS 
OR 
INTERNATIONALLY
PROTECTED PERSONS.
Subsection (a) of section 1116 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by inserting a period after ‘‘title’’
and striking the remainder of the subsection.
SEC. 10. MURDER BY FEDERAL PRISONER.
Chapter 51 of title 18, United States Code, is amend-
ed—
(1) by adding at the end thereof the following:
‘‘§ 1118. Murder by a Federal prisoner
‘‘(a) Whoever, while confined in a Federal prison
under a sentence for a term of life imprisonment, murders
another shall be punished by death or by life imprisonment
without the possibility of release.
‘‘(b) For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) ‘Federal prison’ means any Federal correc-
tional, detention, or penal facility, Federal commu-
nity treatment center, or Federal halfway house, or
any such prison operated under contract with the
Federal Government; and
‘‘(2) ‘term of life imprisonment’ means a sen-
tence for the term of natural life, a sentence com-
muted to natural life, an indeterminate term of a
minimum of at least fifteen years and a maximum
of life, or an unexecuted sentence of death.’’; and
(2) in the table of sections at the beginning of
the chapter, by adding at the end the following:
‘‘1118. Murder by a Federal prisoner.’’.
SEC. 11. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO KIDNAP-
PING.
Section 1201 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after ‘‘or for life’’ in subsection (a)
the following: ‘‘and, if the death of any person results,
shall be punished by death or life imprisonment’’.
SEC. 12. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO HOS-
TAGE TAKING.
Section 1203 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after ‘‘or for life’’ in subsection (a)
the following: ‘‘and, if the death of any person results,
shall be punished by death or life imprisonment’’.
SEC. 13. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO MAIL-
ABILITY OF INJURIOUS ARTICLES.
The last paragraph of section 1716 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by changing the comma after
‘‘imprisonment for life’’ to a period and deleting the re-
mainder of the paragraph.
SEC. 14. CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO PRESI-
DENTIAL ASSASSINATION.
Subsection (c) of section 1751 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) Whoever attempts to murder or kidnap any indi-
vidual designated in subsection (a) of this section shall be
punished (1) by imprisonment for any term of years or
for life, or (2) by death or imprisonment for any term of
years or for life if the conduct constitutes an attempt to
murder the President of the United States and results in
bodily injury to the President or otherwise comes dan-
gerously close to causing the death of the President.’’.