S 960 United States Senate · 119th Congress

Justice for Murder Victims Act

S 960, the "Justice for Murder Victims Act," removes the maximum time limit for prosecuting homicide offenses under federal law, allowing prosecutors to file charges regardless of how long passed between the act causing death and the victim's death. However, it limits the death penalty to cases where the victim died within 1 year and 1 day of the act causing death. The bill amends Title 18, U.S. Code, to apply this change to all homicide prosecutions occurring after enactment, while also modifying penalties for first-degree murder to reflect the 1-year-and-1-day time limit for the death penalty. This directly affects federal prosecutors, defendants facing homicide charges, and victims' families seeking justice for delayed prosecutions.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
House Passage
President
Introduced Mar 11, 2025 Last action Mar 14, 2025
Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
1
Committee
0
Mar 11, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S1675-1676; text: CR S1676)
upper
Mar 11, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
upper
Mar 11, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors