Capito Amendment Sets Uniform Punishments for Terrorist Attacks on all Mass Transportation and Rail Carriers

Capito Amendment Sets Uniform Punishments for Terrorist Attacks on all Mass Transportation and Rail Carriers
7/21/2005

WASHINGTON, DC (7/21) Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) will offer an amendment to the PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Bill that would make a terrorist attack on a railroad or mass transportation system punishable by death. The amendment sets uniform penalties for attacks against all rail and mass transit systems on land, on water, or through the air.

"Justice awaits those who threaten the innocent with violence," noted Capito. "My amendment establishes a uniform set of consequences for acts of terrorism on all mass transportation. This standard does not exist today. As we fortify our nations homeland security to deter attacks we must also adjust our legal system to properly deal with terrorists."

The Capito amendment makes standard the penalties for terrorist attacks and other violence against railroad carriers and mass transportation systems on land, on water, or through the air. The amendment includes a sentence of up to 20 years in jail for violence against a rail or mass transportation vehicle; a sentence of at least 30 years imprisonment if the vehicle is carrying spent nuclear fuel or high level radioactive waste; and a mandatory life sentence with death penalty eligibility if the attack results in the death of a person.

http://capito.house.gov/press_office/detail-page.aspx?id=91&whichone=pr