U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AK) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced Wednesday the Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act which seeks to reinstate and enhance penalties against repeat offenders.
The initial Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), which passed in 1984, required a mandatory minimum 15-year prison sentence for felons convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm following three prior state or federal convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses. Under an ACCA “residual clause,” violent felonies were, in part, defined as “any crime that otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.”
In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled the residual clause unconstitutionally vague and effectively void.
The result, the senators said, led to crimes that should never have happened.
“True criminal justice reform includes giving prosecutors the tools they need to seek enhanced penalties against the worst repeat offenders,” Hatch said. “Prosecutors lost one of those tools three years ago when the Supreme Court ruled that a provision of the Armed Career Criminal Act was unconstitutionally vague. Criminals released early from prison as a result of that decision have gone on to commit heinous crimes, including the murder of three innocent Utahns. Our bill will bring much-needed clarity to the law while empowering prosecutors to pursue justice.”
The Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act of 2018 would allow prosecutors to push greater penalties against repeat offenders. The new bill seeks to remove the vagueness of its predecessor by replacing the concepts of “violent felony” and “serious drug offense” with a single category of “serious felony.” A serious felony would subsequently be any crime punishable by 10 years or more imprisonment.
The senators’ effort has received the full support of the National Association of Police Organizations and a letter of support from the National Sheriffs’ Association.