Melissa Hart on Crime Former Republican Representative (PA-4, 2001-2007)

No TV, R-rated movies, or coffeepots in prison cells.

Title: To prohibit the use of Federal funds for certain amenities and personal comforts in the Federal prison system. Summary: Prohibits the use of Federal funds to provide the following amenities or personal comforts in the Federal prison system:
1. in-cell television viewing;
2. viewing of a motion picture rated R, X, or NC-17;
3. instruction or training equipment for specified fighting arts, bodybuilding, or weightlifting;
4. an in-cell coffee pot, hot plate, or heating element; or
5. an electric or electronic musical instrument.

Moratorium on death penalty; more DNA testing.

H.R. 1038, S.233:

To place a moratorium on executions by the Federal Government and urge the States to do the same, while a National Commission on the Death Penalty reviews the fairness of the imposition of the death penalty .

To reduce the risk that innocent persons may be executed [by examining DNA evidence more thoroughly].

• H. R. 912, 3/7/2001, Innocence Protection Act of 2001 (Delahunt, et. al.)
• S.486, 3/7/2001, Innocence Protection Act of 2001 (Leahy, et. al.)
• H.R.1038, 3/15/2001, National Death Penalty Moratorium Act of 2001 (Jackson (IL), Rodriguez, Clay, Hoeffel, Jackson-Lee (TX))
• S.233, 1/31/2001, National Death Penalty Moratorium Act of 2001 (Feingold, Levin, Wellstone, Corzine)

Require DNA testing for all federal executions.

Title: To reduce the risk that innocent persons may be executed.

Summary: Authorizes a person convicted of a Federal crime to apply for DNA testing to support a claim that the person did not commit:
1. the Federal crime of which the person was convicted; or

2. any other offense that a sentencing authority may have relied upon when it sentenced the person with respect to such crime.

3. Prohibits a State from denying an application for DNA testing made by a prisoner in State custody who is under sentence of death if specified conditions apply.

4. Provides grants to prosecutors for DNA testing programs.

5. Establishes the National Commission on Capital Representation.

6. Withholds funds from States not complying with standards for capital representation.

7. Provides for capital defense incentive grants and resource grants.

8. Increases compensation in Federal cases, and sets forth provisions regarding compensation in State cases, where an individual is unjustly sentenced to death.

9. Adds a certification requirement in Federal death penalty prosecutions.

10. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding the execution of juvenile offenders and the mentally retarded.