US Had to Pass Innocent Child Act
Dateline: 07/31/00
In his latest Feel Good Law of the Month column, About Crime and Punishment Guide Bill Bickel takes the House of Representatives to task for its recent unanimous passage of a bill making it illegal for any, "authority, military or civil, of the United States, a State, or any district, possession, commonwealth or other territory under the authority of the United States," to carry out the execution of a pregnant woman.
As Bickel says, "Hell, who's going to vote against that one? Even if it were actually a wildly-misnamed tax increase, what politician is going to want his "nay" vote listed next to it?"
Okay, that's a fact. And, this is not to say that plenty of "feel good" legislation driven by pure politics does not pass Congress every session. But, in the case of this bill, H.R. 4888 - the Innocent Child Protection Act of 2000, Congress is required to pass this bill in order to fulfill the obligations of the United States under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was ratified by the United States in 1992 and has been signed by 143 other countries, guarantees certain civil and political rights to all individuals within the jurisdiction of the various nations, including the right to be free from torture or cruel and inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment, the right to be free from slavery, and the right to liberty and security of person.
Addressing the Congress in debate on this bill, Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) stated, "The covenant also guarantees the right to freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion; but of significance to today's legislation, article 6 of that covenant provides that a sentence of death shall not be carried out on a pregnant woman. ... The United States agreed to this prohibition and promised to respect and ensure the rights recognized in the covenant to all individuals subject to the jurisdiction of the United States."
Fact is, executing a pregnant woman has been illegal in the United States for some time now. United States Code, Title 18, section 3596, implementation of death sentence reads, in part:
"When the sentence is to be implemented, the Attorney General shall release the person sentenced to death to the custody of a United States Marshal, who shall supervise implementation of the sentence in the manner prescribed by law of the State in which the sentence is imposed. If the law of the State does not provide for implementation of the death sentence, the Court shall designate another State, the law of which does provide for the implementation of a death sentence and the sentence shall be implemented in the manner prescribed by such law; B) pregnant woman, a sentence of death shall not be carried out upon a woman while she is pregnant."
Just to set the record straight.
Reference Links
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Complete text of the Covenant to which Congress was complying with passage of this bill. From the Arthur W. Diamond Law Library at Columbia Law School.
Feel Good Law of the Month - The Innocent Child Protection Act
Crime Guide Bill Bickel questions the need for a law that nobody could oppose.
Face it. We may not "love" crime, but we darn sure love to read about. Guide to Crime Bill Bickel offers up a weekly meal of bad guys and gals that just never seems to end.
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