AMENDMENT 476
The Commentary to §2A1.1 captioned "Background" is deleted as follows:
"Background: The maximum penalty authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 1111 for first degree murder is death or life imprisonment. Whether a mandatory minimum term of life imprisonment is applicable to every defendant convicted of first degree murder under 18 U.S.C. § 1111 is a matter of statutory interpretation for the courts. The discussion in Application Note 1, supra, regarding circumstances in which a downward departure may be warranted is relevant in the event the penalty provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 1111 are construed to permit a sentence less than life imprisonment, or in the event the defendant is convicted under a statute that expressly authorizes a sentence of less than life imprisonment (e.g., 18 U.S.C. §§ 2113(e), 2118(c)(2), 21 U.S.C. § 848(e)).
The maximum penalty authorized under 21 U.S.C. § 848(e) is death or life imprisonment. If a term of imprisonment is imposed, the statutorily required minimum term is twenty years.".
Reason for Amendment: This amendment deletes commentary that highlighted the question of whether 18 U.S.C. § 1111 provides a mandatory minimum term of life imprisonment. Since this commentary was written, appellate courts uniformly have held that 18 U.S.C. § 1111 does provide a mandatory minimum term of life imprisonment. See United States v. Sands, 968 F.2d 1058 (10th Cir. 1992), cert. denied, 113 S. Ct. 987 (1993); United States v. LaFleur, 952 F.2d 1537 (9th Cir), modfied and reh’g denied, 971 F.2d 200 (9th Cir. 1991); United States v. Gonzalez, 922 F.2d 1044 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 112 S. Ct. 660 (1991); United States v. Donley, 878 F.2d 735 (3d Cir. 1989), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1058 (1990). In addition, this amendment deletes, as unnecessary, several sentences of commentary that merely recite statutory penalties.
Effective Date: The effective date of this amendment is November 1, 1993.