18 U.S.C. § 1120 — Murder by escaped prisoners

(a) Definition. This section borrows two terms from section 1118: "Federal correctional institution" and "term of life imprisonment." Their meaning is exactly what section 1118 states, not defined here. (b) Offense and Penalty. This section applies only to a person who escaped from a Federal correctional institution. It applies further only if that person was confined there under a sentence of life imprisonment. If such a person then kills another person, this law punishes them. The punishment is whatever sections 1111 and 1112 set out. This section does not create its own separate punishment. Instead, it points to those two sections for the actual penalty. The text does not say whether the killing must happen during the escape itself. It also does not say how much time may pass between the escape and the killing. It applies to any killing by a person who meets both conditions: escaped status and a prior life sentence. The law does not distinguish killings of guards, other prisoners, or private citizens. It also does not require any particular means or intent beyond killing another person.

The source credit indicates that 18 U.S.C. § 1120 was added by Public Law 103–322, title VI, § 60012(a), enacted September 13, 1994, and published at 108 Stat. 1973. The credit further shows a single subsequent amendment, made by Public Law 104–294, title VI, § 601(c)(2), enacted October 11, 1996, and published at 110 Stat. 3499. Beyond these two legislative actions, the source credit does not indicate any further amendment history. Public Law 103–322 is widely known as the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a large omnibus crime bill enacted amid a period of heightened national concern over violent crime. The Act is generally understood to have expanded and reorganized numerous federal criminal offenses, including provisions addressing homicide committed within the federal correctional system. Section 1120's placement alongside related provisions on murder by federal prisoners suggests it was part of a broader effort to close gaps in federal jurisdiction over killings connected to escape from federal custody, particularly by persons already serving life sentences. However, the record supplied here does not establish the specific legislative rationale, committee deliberations, or particular incident, if any, that prompted this provision's inclusion. Similarly, the purpose of the 1996 amendment—made by the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997—is not documented in the material provided, and no further characterization of its intent can be offered without speculation.