18 U.S.C. § 3593 : US Code - Section 3593: Special hearing to determine whether a sentence of death is justified

Search 18 U.S.C. § 3593 : US Code - Section 3593: Special hearing to determine whether a sentence of death is justified

(a) Notice by the Government. - If, in a case involving an
offense described in section 3591, the attorney for the government
believes that the circumstances of the offense are such that a
sentence of death is justified under this chapter, the attorney
shall, a reasonable time before the trial or before acceptance by
the court of a plea of guilty, sign and file with the court, and
serve on the defendant, a notice -
(1) stating that the government believes that the circumstances
of the offense are such that, if the defendant is convicted, a
sentence of death is justified under this chapter and that the
government will seek the sentence of death; and
(2) setting forth the aggravating factor or factors that the
government, if the defendant is convicted, proposes to prove as
justifying a sentence of death.
The factors for which notice is provided under this subsection may
include factors concerning the effect of the offense on the victim
and the victim's family, and may include oral testimony, a victim
impact statement that identifies the victim of the offense and the
extent and scope of the injury and loss suffered by the victim and
the victim's family, and any other relevant information. The court
may permit the attorney for the government to amend the notice upon
a showing of good cause.
(b) Hearing Before a Court or Jury. - If the attorney for the
government has filed a notice as required under subsection (a) and
the defendant is found guilty of or pleads guilty to an offense
described in section 3591, the judge who presided at the trial or
before whom the guilty plea was entered, or another judge if that
judge is unavailable, shall conduct a separate sentencing hearing
to determine the punishment to be imposed. The hearing shall be
conducted -
(1) before the jury that determined the defendant's guilt;
(2) before a jury impaneled for the purpose of the hearing if -

(A) the defendant was convicted upon a plea of guilty;
(B) the defendant was convicted after a trial before the
court sitting without a jury;
(C) the jury that determined the defendant's guilt was
discharged for good cause; or
(D) after initial imposition of a sentence under this
section, reconsideration of the sentence under this section is
necessary; or
(3) before the court alone, upon the motion of the defendant
and with the approval of the attorney for the government.
A jury impaneled pursuant to paragraph (2) shall consist of 12
members, unless, at any time before the conclusion of the hearing,
the parties stipulate, with the approval of the court, that it
shall consist of a lesser number.
(c) Proof of Mitigating and Aggravating Factors. -
Notwithstanding rule 32 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure,
when a defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense
under section 3591, no presentence report shall be prepared. At the
sentencing hearing, information may be presented as to any matter
relevant to the sentence, including any mitigating or aggravating
factor permitted or required to be considered under section 3592.
Information presented may include the trial transcript and exhibits
if the hearing is held before a jury or judge not present during
the trial, or at the trial judge's discretion. The defendant may
present any information relevant to a mitigating factor. The
government may present any information relevant to an aggravating
factor for which notice has been provided under subsection (a).
Information is admissible regardless of its admissibility under the
rules governing admission of evidence at criminal trials except
that information may be excluded if its probative value is
outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing
the issues, or misleading the jury. For the purposes of the
preceding sentence, the fact that a victim, as defined in section
3510, attended or observed the trial shall not be construed to pose
a danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or
misleading the jury. The government and the defendant shall be
permitted to rebut any information received at the hearing, and
shall be given fair opportunity to present argument as to the
adequacy of the information to establish the existence of any
aggravating or mitigating factor, and as to the appropriateness in
the case of imposing a sentence of death. The government shall open
the argument. The defendant shall be permitted to reply. The
government shall then be permitted to reply in rebuttal. The burden
of establishing the existence of any aggravating factor is on the
government, and is not satisfied unless the existence of such a
factor is established beyond a reasonable doubt. The burden of
establishing the existence of any mitigating factor is on the
defendant, and is not satisfied unless the existence of such a
factor is established by a preponderance of the information.
(d) Return of Special Findings. - The jury, or if there is no
jury, the court, shall consider all the information received during
the hearing. It shall return special findings identifying any
aggravating factor or factors set forth in section 3592 found to
exist and any other aggravating factor for which notice has been
provided under subsection (a) found to exist. A finding with
respect to a mitigating factor may be made by 1 or more members of
the jury, and any member of the jury who finds the existence of a
mitigating factor may consider such factor established for purposes
of this section regardless of the number of jurors who concur that
the factor has been established. A finding with respect to any
aggravating factor must be unanimous. If no aggravating factor set
forth in section 3592 is found to exist, the court shall impose a
sentence other than death authorized by law.
(e) Return of a Finding Concerning a Sentence of Death. - If, in
the case of -
(1) an offense described in section 3591(a)(1), an aggravating
factor required to be considered under section 3592(b) is found
to exist;
(2) an offense described in section 3591(a)(2), an aggravating
factor required to be considered under section 3592(c) is found
to exist; or
(3) an offense described in section 3591(b), an aggravating
factor required to be considered under section 3592(d) is found
to exist,
the jury, or if there is no jury, the court, shall consider whether
all the aggravating factor or factors found to exist sufficiently
outweigh all the mitigating factor or factors found to exist to
justify a sentence of death, or, in the absence of a mitigating
factor, whether the aggravating factor or factors alone are
sufficient to justify a sentence of death. Based upon this
consideration, the jury by unanimous vote, or if there is no jury,
the court, shall recommend whether the defendant should be
sentenced to death, to life imprisonment without possibility of
release or some other lesser sentence.
(f) Special Precaution To Ensure Against Discrimination. - In a
hearing held before a jury, the court, prior to the return of a
finding under subsection (e), shall instruct the jury that, in
considering whether a sentence of death is justified, it shall not
consider the race, color, religious beliefs, national origin, or
sex of the defendant or of any victim and that the jury is not to
recommend a sentence of death unless it has concluded that it would
recommend a sentence of death for the crime in question no matter
what the race, color, religious beliefs, national origin, or sex of
the defendant or of any victim may be. The jury, upon return of a
finding under subsection (e), shall also return to the court a
certificate, signed by each juror, that consideration of the race,
color, religious beliefs, national origin, or sex of the defendant
or any victim was not involved in reaching his or her individual
decision and that the individual juror would have made the same
recommendation regarding a sentence for the crime in question no
matter what the race, color, religious beliefs, national origin, or
sex of the defendant or any victim may be.