I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3981
To provide mandatory life imprisonment for persons convicted of a third
violent felony.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 8, 1994
Mr. SCHUMER (by request) (for himself, Mr. HOYER, Mr. MAZZOLI, Mr.
GLICKMAN, Mr. SANGMEISTER, Mr. MANN, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mr.
RAMSTAD, Mr. LIVINGSTON, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. MANTON, and Mrs. BYRNE)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
A BILL
To provide mandatory life imprisonment for persons
convicted of a third violent felony.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That section 3559 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘An’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (c), an’’ in
lieu thereof; and
(2) by adding the following new subsection at
the end:
‘‘(c) IMPRISONMENT
OF CERTAIN VIOLENT FEL-
ONS.—
‘‘(1) MANDATORY LIFE IMPRISONMENT.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, a person
who is convicted in a court of the United States of
a serious violent felony shall be sentenced to life im-
prisonment if—
‘‘(A) the person has been convicted on 2 or
more prior occasions in a court of the United
States or of a State of a serious violent felony;
and
‘‘(B) each serious violent felony used as a
basis for sentencing under this subsection,
other than the first, was committed after the
defendant’s conviction of the preceding serious
violent felony.
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section—
‘‘(A) the term ‘assault with intent to com-
mit rape’ means an offense that has as its ele-
ments engaging in physical conduct by which a
person intentionally places another person in
fear of aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse
(as described in sections 2241 and 2242);
‘‘(B) the term ‘arson’ means an offense
that has as its elements maliciously damaging
or destroying any building, inhabited structure,
vehicle, vessel, or real property by means of fire
or an explosive;
‘‘(C) the term ‘extortion’ means an offense
that has as its elements the extraction of any-
thing of value from another person by threaten-
ing or placing that person in fear of injury to
any person or kidnapping of any person;
‘‘(D) the term ‘firearms use’ means an of-
fense that has as its elements those described
in section 924(c) or 929(a), if the firearm was
brandished, discharged, or otherwise used as a
weapon and the crime of violence or drug traf-
ficking crime during and relation to which the
firearm was used was subject to prosecution in
a court of the United States or a court of a
State, or both;
‘‘(E) the term ‘kidnapping’ means an of-
fense that has as its elements the abduction, re-
straining, confining, or carrying away of an-
other person by force or threat of force;
‘‘(F) the term ‘serious violent felony’
means—
‘‘(i) a Federal or State offense, by
whatever designation and wherever com-
mitted, consisting of murder (as described
in section 1111); manslaughter other than
involuntary manslaughter (as described in
section 1112); assault with intent to com-
mit murder (as described in section
113(a)); assault with intent to commit
rape; aggravated sexual abuse and sexual
abuse (as described in sections 2241 and
2242); abusive sexual contact (as described
in sections 2244(a)(1) and (a)(2)); kidnap-
ping; aircraft piracy (as described in sec-
tion 1472(i)(2) or (n)(2) of title 49); rob-
bery (as described in section 2111); extor-
tion; arson; firearms use; or attempt, con-
spiracy, or solicitation to commit any of
the above offenses; or
‘‘(ii) any other offense punishable by
a maximum term of imprisonment of 10
years or more that has as an element the
use, attempted use, or threatened use of
physical force against the person of an-
other or that, by its nature, involves a sub-
stantial risk that physical force against the
person of another may be used in the
course of committing the offense; and
‘‘(G) the term ‘State’ means a State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, or any
commonwealth, territory, or possession of the
United States.
‘‘(3) NONQUALIFYING FELONIES.—
‘‘(A) ROBBERY IN CERTAIN CASES.—Rob-
bery, an attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to
commit robbery; or an offense described in
paragraph (2)(F)(ii) shall not serve as a basis
for sentencing under this subsection if the de-
fendant establishes by clear and convincing evi-
dence that—
‘‘(i) no firearm or other dangerous
weapon was involved in the offense; and
‘‘(ii) the offense did not result in
death or serious bodily injury (as defined
in section 1365) to any person.
‘‘(B) ARSON
IN
CERTAIN
CASES.—Arson
shall not serve as a basis for sentencing under
this subsection if the defendant establishes by
clear and convincing evidence that—
‘‘(i) the offense posed no threat to
human life; and
‘‘(ii) the defendant reasonably believed
the offense posed no threat to human life.
‘‘(4) INFORMATION FILED BY UNITED STATES
ATTORNEY.—The provisions of section 411(a) of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 851(a)) shall
apply to the imposition of sentence under this sub-
section.
‘‘(5) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—This sub-
section shall not be construed to preclude imposition
of the death penalty.’’.
Æ