This bill would eliminate the federal death penalty by prohibiting anyone from being sentenced to death or executed for any federal crime after the law takes effect. The legislation would also require that all individuals currently on federal death row be resentenced, meaning they would receive new sentences that would likely be life imprisonment without parole instead of execution. The bill affects federal criminal cases prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice, not state death penalty laws, which would remain unchanged. The proposal contains no new funding requirements since it would reduce federal spending on death penalty cases. The bill was introduced in July 2023 and received support from 21 senators, primarily from the Democratic caucus, but has not advanced for a full Senate vote.
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