Federal Death Penalty
The federal death penalty can be enacted in any state or territory of the United States, even in states that do not have the death penalty. Three federal executions have taken place since 2001. There are currently over 50 prisoners on Federal death row.
- In 1988, a federal death penalty statute was enacted for murders committed in the course of drug trafficking activities.
- In 1994, the federal death penalty was again expanded to include some 60 different offenses. These included: murder of certain government officials; kidnapping resulting in death; murder for hire; fatal drive-by shootings; sexual abuse crimes resulting in death; carjacking resulting in death; as well as certain crimes not resulting in death, including the running of large-scale drug enterprises.
- From 1963 to 2001, no federal executions took place. Since 2001, three prisoners have been executed; there have been 37 federal executions since 1927.
- The Federal Death Penalty and Race
- According to the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project, since 1988 US Attorneys General have authorized the death penalty in 435 cases. Of these, only 115 of the defendants (26%) were white. Over half of those currently on Federal death row are non-white.
- An American Civil Liberties Union report in 2007 revealed that the chance of a case being authorized for the death penalty is 84% higher in cases where the victim is white, regardless of the race of the defendant. The report pointed to earlier Justice Department statistics showing that almost twice the percentage of white defendants had the possibility of a death sentence removed through plea bargaining than the percentage of defendants of color.
- The Federal Death Penalty and Geography
- According to 2007 Justice Department statistics about 40% of death penalty cases since 2001 have come from six jurisdictions: the Central District of California, the Eastern District of New York, the District of Maryland, the District of Washington, D.C., and the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia.
- Of the 58 prisoners on federal death row under active death sentences over half came from Southern states, including ten from Texas. Six came from states that do not have the death penalty.
The U.S. military has its own death penalty statute, although no executions have been carried out since 1961. As of January 2008, nine men are on military death row. Six are African-American. They are held at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Ft. Leavenworth in Kansas.
The Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA), which established special military commission for detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, provides for the death penalty for certain offenses. Some Guantánamo prisoners may face capital charges under this Act, while others are being moved to the U.S. to face capital charges in federal court.
