I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5236
To institute a moratorium on the imposition of the death penalty at the
Federal level until a Commission on the Federal Death Penalty studies
its use and policies ensuring justice, fairness, and due process are imple-
mented.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 21, 2000
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To institute a moratorium on the imposition of the death
penalty at the Federal level until a Commission on the
Federal Death Penalty studies its use and policies ensur-
ing justice, fairness, and due process are implemented.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Death Penalty
Moratorium Act of 2000’’.
TITLE I—MORATORIUM ON THE
FEDERAL DEATH PENALTY
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The administration of the Federal death
penalty should be consistent with our Nation’s fun-
damental principles of justice, equality, and due
process.
(2) The fairness of the administration of the
Federal death penalty, however, has recently come
under serious scrutiny, specifically raising questions
of racial and geographic disparities:
(A) About three-quarters of Federal death
row inmates are members of minority groups.
(B) A report released by the Department
of Justice on September 12, 2000, found that
about 80 percent of defendants who were
charged with death-eligible offenses under Fed-
eral law and whose cases were submitted by the
United States attorneys under the Depart-
ment’s death penalty decision-making proce-
dures were African American, Hispanic Amer-
ican, or members of other minority groups.
(C) The Department of Justice report
shows that United States attorneys in only 5 of
94 Federal districts—1 each in Virginia, Mary-
land, Puerto Rico, and 2 in New York—submit
40 percent of all cases in which the death pen-
alty is considered.
(D) The Department of Justice report
shows that United States attorneys who have
frequently recommended seeking the death pen-
alty are often from States with a high number
of executions under State law, including Texas,
Virginia, and Missouri.
(E) The Department of Justice report
shows that white defendants are more likely
than black defendants to negotiate plea bar-
gains saving them from the death penalty in
Federal cases.
(F) A study conducted by the House Judi-
ciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional
Rights in 1994 concluded that 89 percent of de-
fendants selected for capital prosecution under
the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 have been ei-
ther African American or Hispanic American.
SEC. 102. FEDERAL DEATH PENALTY MORATORIUM.
The Federal Government shall not carry out any sen-
tence of death imposed under Federal law until Congress
considers the final findings and recommendations of the
Commission on the Federal Death Penalty in the report
submitted under section 202(c)(2) and enacts legislation
repealing this section and implementing or rejecting the
guidelines and procedures recommended by the Commis-
sion.
TITLE II—COMMISSION ON THE
FEDERAL DEATH PENALTY
SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com-
mission to be known as the Commission on the Federal
Death Penalty (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Commis-
sion’’).
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—
(1) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the Commis-
sion shall be appointed by the President in consulta-
tion with the Attorney General and the Chairmen
and Ranking Members of the Committees on the Ju-
diciary of the House of Representatives and the Sen-
ate.
(2) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be
composed of 15 members, of whom—
(A) 3 members shall be Federal prosecu-
tors;
(B) 3 members shall be attorneys experi-
enced in capital defense;
(C) 2 members shall be current or former
Federal judges;
(D) 2 members shall be current or former
Federal law enforcement officials; and
(E) 5 members shall be individuals from
the public or private sector who have knowledge
or expertise, whether by experience or training,
in matters to be studied by the Commission,
which may include—
(i) officers or employees of the Fed-
eral Government or State or local govern-
ments;
(ii) members of academia, nonprofit
organizations, the religious community, or
industry; and
(iii) other interested individuals.
(3) BALANCED VIEWPOINTS.—In appointing the
members of the Commission, the President shall, to
the maximum extent practicable, ensure that the
membership of the Commission is fairly balanced
with respect to the opinions of the members of the
Commission regarding support for or opposition to
the use of the death penalty.
(4) DATE.—The appointments of the initial
members of the Commission shall be made not later
than 30 days after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—Mem-
bers shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. Any
vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but
shall be filled in the same manner as the original appoint-
ment.
(d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after
all initial members of the Commission have been ap-
pointed, the Commission shall hold its first meeting.
(e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the
call of the Chairperson.
(f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the
Commission shall constitute a quorum for conducting
business, but a lesser number of members may hold hear-
ings.
(g) CHAIR.—The President shall designate 1 member
appointed under subsection (a) to serve as the Chair of
the Commission.
(h) RULES
AND PROCEDURES.—The Commission
shall adopt rules and procedures to govern its proceedings.
SEC. 202. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) STUDY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con-
duct a thorough study of all matters relating to the
administration of the death penalty at the Federal
level to determine whether it comports with constitu-
tional principles and requirements of fairness, jus-
tice, equality, and due process.
(2) MATTERS STUDIED.—The matters studied
by the Commission shall include the following:
(A) Racial disparities in capital charging,
prosecuting, and sentencing decisions.
(B) Disproportionality in capital charging,
prosecuting, and sentencing decisions based on,
or in correlation to, the geographic location and
income status of defendant or any other factor
resulting in such disproportionality.
(C) Adequacy of representation of capital
defendants, including consideration of the ABA
‘‘Guidelines for the Appointment and Perform-
ance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases’’
(adopted February 1989) and Association poli-
cies intended to encourage competency of coun-
sel in capital cases (adopted February 1979,
February 1988, February 1990, and August
1996).
(D) Whether innocent persons have been
sentenced to death and the reasons these
wrongful convictions have occurred.
(E) Whether the Federal Government
should seek the death penalty in any State in
which State statutes do not provide for imposi-
tion of the death penalty.
(F) Procedures to ensure that persons sen-
tenced to death have access to forensic evidence
and modern testing of such evidence, including
DNA testing, when such testing could result in
new evidence of innocence.
(G) Any other law or procedure to ensure
that death penalty cases are administered fairly
and impartially, in accordance with the Con-
stitution.
(b) GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Based on the study con-
ducted pursuant to subsection (a), the Commission
shall establish guidelines and procedures for the ad-
ministration of the Federal death penalty consistent
with paragraph (2).
(2) INTENT
OF
GUIDELINES
AND
PROCE-
DURES.—The guidelines and procedures required by
this subsection shall—
(A) ensure that the death penalty cases are
administered fairly and impartially, in accord-
ance with due process;
(B) minimize the risk that innocent per-
sons may be executed; and
(C) ensure that the death penalty is not
administered in a racially discriminatory man-
ner.
(c) REPORT.—
(1) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—Not later than 1
year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Commission shall submit to the President, the Attor-
ney General, and the Congress a preliminary report,
which shall contain a preliminary statement of find-
ings and conclusions.
(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sion shall submit a report to the President, the At-
torney General, and the Congress which shall con-
tain a detailed statement of the findings and conclu-
sions of the Commission, together with its rec-
ommendations for such legislation and administra-
tive actions implementing the guidelines and proce-
dures as it considers appropriate.
SEC. 203. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) INFORMATION
FROM
FEDERAL
AND
STATE
AGENCIES.—The Commission may secure directly from
any Federal or State department or agency such informa-
tion as the Commission considers necessary to carry out
the provisions of this title. Upon request of the Chair-
person of the Commission, the head of such department
or agency shall furnish such information to the Commis-
sion.
(b) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use
the United States mails in the same manner and under
the same conditions as other departments and agencies of
the Federal Government.
(c) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and
dispose of gifts or donations of services or property.
(d) HEARINGS.—The Commission or, at its direction,
any subcommittee or member of the Commission, may, for
the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this title—
(1) hold such hearings, sit and act at such
times and places, take such testimony, receive such
evidence, administer such oaths; and
(2) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at-
tendance and testimony of such witnesses and the
production of such books, records, correspondence,
memoranda, papers, documents, tapes, and materials
as the Commission or such subcommittee or member
considers advisable.
(e) 
ISSUANCE
AND
ENFORCEMENT
OF
SUB-
POENAS.—
(1) ISSUANCE.—Subpoenas issued pursuant to
subsection (d) shall bear the signature of the Chair-
person of the Commission and shall be served by any
person or class of persons designated by the Chair-
person for that purpose.
(2) ENFORCEMENT.—In the case of contumacy
or failure to obey a subpoena issued under sub-
section (d), the district court of the United States
for the judicial district in which the subpoenaed per-
son resides, is served, or may be found may issue an
order requiring such person to appear at any des-
ignated place to testify or to produce documentary
or other evidence. Any failure to obey the order of
the court may be punished by the court as a con-
tempt.
(3) TESTIMONY OF PERSONS IN CUSTODY.—A
court of the United States within the jurisdiction in
which testimony of a person held in custody is
sought by the Commission or within the jurisdiction
of which such person is held in custody, may, upon
application by the Attorney General, issue a writ of
habeas corpus ad testificandum requiring the custo-
dian to produce such person before the Commission,
or before a member of the Commission or a member
of the staff of the Commission designated by the
Commission for such purpose.
(f) WITNESS ALLOWANCES AND FEES.—The provi-
sions of section 1821 of title 28, United States Code, shall
apply to witnesses requested or subpoenaed to appear at
any hearing of the Commission. The per diem and mileage
allowances for witnesses shall be paid from funds available
to pay the expenses of the Commission.
SEC. 204. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.
(a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Members of the
Commission shall serve without compensation for their
services to the Commission.
(b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com-
mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per
diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ-
ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title
5, United States Code, while away from their homes or
regular places of business in the performance of services
for the Commission.
(c) STAFF.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the
Commission may, without regard to the civil service
laws and regulations, appoint and terminate an exec-
utive director and such other additional personnel as
may be necessary to enable the Commission to per-
form its duties. The employment of an executive di-
rector shall be subject to confirmation by the Com-
mission.
(2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of the
Commission may fix the compensation of the execu-
tive director and other personnel without regard to
the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of
chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating
to classification of positions and General Schedule
pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the execu-
tive director and other personnel may not exceed the
rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule
under section 5316 of such title.
(d) DETAIL
OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any
Federal Government employee may be detailed to the
Commission without reimbursement, and such detail shall
be without interruption or loss of civil service status or
privilege.
(e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT-
TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission
may procure temporary and intermittent services under
section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates
for individuals which do not exceed the daily equivalent
of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of
the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.
SEC. 205. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.
The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the
date on which the Commission submits its report under
section 202.
SEC. 206. FUNDING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may expend not
to exceed $850,000 as provided by subsection (b) to carry
out this title.
(b) AVAILABILITY.—Sums appropriated to the De-
partment of Justice shall be made available to carry out
this title.
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