William Hughes: “I do not think the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Gekas], my friend, understands his own amendment. He eliminates life…”

Second, the gentleman has misread the bill. A rape, a heinous rape or serious physical abuse, is an aggravating factor under the bill as written.

I congratulate the gentleman. I support his amendment. It puts $10.5 billion in for prison grant programs for the States. The gentleman has done a good job of working with the Governors and corrections officials around the country. It is…

It is not an element of the offense. The gentleman misunderstands what an element of the offense is. That is not an element of the offense. I say to my colleague from Pennsylvania, ``I tried capital cases. The gentleman is trying to tell…

I support the death penalty, as most of my colleagues know, where I believe it can be constitutionally imposed... a jury can consider, as one of the aggravating factors, the heinous nature of the offense, cruel nature of the offense, or…