Terrorism bill would expand death penalty

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, introduced legislation Wednesday that would let prosecutors seek capital punishment in more terrorism cases.
The bill would also allow prosecutors to apply the death penalty to people convicted of conspiring or attempting to commit terrorist acts, as well as for people who raise money for terrorists.
"I have pressed the Department of Justice to proceed with criminal prosecutions and to seek the death penalty for terrorists and for those that fund terrorists through front organizations," Specter, R-Pa., said in a statement. "The contributors to terrorist organizations, knowing what those organizations do, are on notice. This legislation will clear up any ambiguity and will make such contributors to terrorist organizations liable for the death penalty as accessories before the fact."
The bill would also let the death penalty be applied in cases of sabotage against a national defense installation or the destruction of a nuclear facility, according to Specter's statement.