I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3781 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a criminal penalty for 
torture committed by law enforcement officers and others acting under 
color of law. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 18, 2012 
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. RUSH, and 
Mr. GUTIERREZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a criminal 
penalty for torture committed by law enforcement offi-
cers and others acting under color of law. 
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 ‘‘Law Enforcement Tor-
ture Prevention Act of 2011’’. 
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SEC. 2. TORTURE COMMITTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OF-
FICERS AND OTHERS ACTING UNDER COLOR 
OF LAW. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 250. Torture committed by law enforcement offi-
cers and others acting under color of law 
‘‘(a) Whoever, acting under color of local, State, or 
Federal law, commits or attempts or conspires to commit 
torture shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 years, 
but if death results to any person from the offense, the 
offender shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for 
life. 
‘‘(b) A person may be prosecuted, tried, or punished 
for an offense under this section at any time without limi-
tation. 
‘‘(c) In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘torture’ means intentionally in-
flicting severe pain or suffering, whether physical or 
mental, on a person for such purposes as obtaining 
from that person or another information or a confes-
sion, punishing that person, or intimidating or coerc-
ing that person or another, or for any reason based 
on discrimination of any kind, but does not include 
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pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or 
incidental to, lawful sanctions; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘inflicting severe pain or suf-
fering’ means— 
‘‘(A) causing or threatening to inflict se-
vere pain or suffering; 
‘‘(B) the administration or application, or 
threatened administration or application, of 
mind-altering substances or other procedures 
calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or 
the personality; 
‘‘(C) the threat of imminent death; 
‘‘(D) the threat that another person will 
imminently be subjected to death, severe phys-
ical pain or suffering, or the administration or 
application of mind-altering substances or other 
procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the 
senses or personality; or 
‘‘(E) sexual assault or the threat of sexual 
assault, including by third party; the denial of 
necessary medical services.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 13 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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