Military Commissions Guilty Plea Adjustment Act

Military Commissions Guilty Plea Adjustment Act - Permits a guilty plea made by the accused prior to the announcement of the sentence in a capital offense trial before a military commission to form the basis of an agreement to reduce the maximum approved sentence.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1894 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1894

   To amend title 10, United States Code, to clarify the right of an 
   accused to plead guilty in a trial by a military commission for a 
                            capital offense.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 2011

Mr. Gowdy (for himself, Mr. Mulvaney, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. 
Graves of Georgia, Mr. West, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Griffin of Arkansas, and 
 Mrs. Adams) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 10, United States Code, to clarify the right of an 
   accused to plead guilty in a trial by a military commission for a 
                            capital offense.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Military Commissions Guilty Plea 
Adjustment Act''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF RIGHT TO PLEAD GUILTY IN A TRIAL FOR A CAPITAL 
              OFFENSE BY A MILITARY COMMISSION.

    (a) Clarification of Right.--Section 949m(b)(2) of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C), by inserting before the semicolon 
        the following: ``, or a guilty plea was accepted and not 
        withdrawn prior to announcement of the sentence in accordance 
        with section 949i(b) of this title''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ``on the sentence'' 
        after ``vote was taken''.
    (b) Pre-Trial Agreements.--Section 949i of such title is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Pre-Trial Agreements.--(1) A plea of guilty made by the 
accused that is accepted by a military judge under subsection (b) and 
not withdrawn prior to announcement of the sentence may form the basis 
for an agreement reducing the maximum sentence approved by the 
convening authority, including the reduction of a sentence of death to 
a lesser punishment, or that the case will be referred to a military 
commission under this chapter without seeking the penalty of death. 
Such an agreement may provide for terms and conditions in addition to a 
guilty plea by the accused in order to be effective.
    ``(2) A plea agreement under this subsection may not provide for a 
sentence of death imposed by a military judge alone. A sentence of 
death may only be imposed by the unanimous vote of a military 
commission concurring in the sentence of death as provided in section 
949m(b)(2)(D) of this title.''.
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