A bill to establish constitutional procedures for the imposition of the sentence of death, and for other purposes.

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

4 August 1983

Last action

23 February 1984 · Introduced

Status

Referred to House Committee on The Judiciary.

Summary

Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea that it intends to seek the death penalty and the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits information to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Includes as threshold, aggravating factors for homicide that the defendant: (1) intentionally killed the victim; (2) intentionally inflicted serious bodily injury which resulted in death of the victim; (3) intentionally participated in an act which he reasonably should have known would create grave risk of death to a person and the victim did die as a direct result of the act; or (4) attempted to kill the President of the United States. Sets forth special aggravating factors with respect to the crimes of treason, espionage, homicide, and attempted murder of the President. Includes among the mitigating factors that the defendant was less than 18 years old at the time of the crime. Directs the court, or the jury by unanimous vote, to impose the death penalty upon a finding that such sentence is justified based on consideration of both the aggravating and mitigating factors. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant in its consideration of the sentence. Limits the circumstances under which the offense of delivering defense information to aid foreign governments is punishable by death. Allows the death penalty to be imposed for the murder of foreign officials and for an offense of kidnapping resulting in the death of any person. Eliminates the death penalty for the crime of rape. Authorizes the death penalty for the crime of attempting to kill the President of the United States if the attempt results in bodily injury to the President or otherwise comes dangerously close to causing his death. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the Court of Appeals, upon considering the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under influence of passion, prejudice, or arbitrariness; and (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors or the absence of mitigating factors. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Provides for the death penalty for murders committed by prisoners in Federal correctional institutions.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

4 August 1983
Calendars
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 356.
Source: Calendars
4 August 1983
Reported
Committee on Judiciary. Ordered to be reported in lieu of S. 538 without amendment favorably.
Source: Committee
4 August 1983
Reported
Committee on Judiciary. Reported to Senate by Senator Thurmond without amendment. Without written report.
Source: Committee
4 August 1983
Introduced
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Source: IntroReferral
4 August 1983
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
Source: IntroReferral
29 September 1983
Floor
Committee on Judiciary filed written report. Report No. 98-251.
Source: Floor
29 September 1983
Committee
Committee on Judiciary filed written report. Report No. 98-251.
Source: Committee
7 February 1984
Floor
Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
Source: Floor
8 February 1984
Floor
Considered by Senate.
Source: Floor
9 February 1984
Floor
Considered by Senate.
Source: Floor
21 February 1984
Floor
Considered by Senate.
Source: Floor
22 February 1984
Floor
Considered by Senate.
Source: Floor
22 February 1984
Vote
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Yea-Nay Vote. 63-32. Record Vote No: 14.
Source: Floor
23 February 1984
Introduced
Referred to House Committee on The Judiciary.
Source: IntroReferral

Votes

· Official source

Yes 0 · No 0 · Abstain — · Absent/not voting 0

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

1 official file

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Introduced in Senate
summary · EN · 4 August 1983
Open at official source

Related records

Sources

PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.

Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/98th-congress/senate-bill/1765
Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/98/s/1765
us · 98-s-1765 · source updated 10 August 2026