The committee recommends the passage of S.1765, which would create a new chapter 228 in Title 18 of the U.S. Code that details complete procedures to be used from the initial decision by the Government to seek the death penalty through appeal. The bill provides that after a conviction for an offense for which the death penalty is authorized, namely murder or treason, the court must hold a separate hearing to examine the existence of statutory aggravating and mitigating factors before proceeding to the ultimate determination of whether to impose the death penalty. The bill also gives the defendant the right to appeal the sentence and says that such review has priority over all other cases. The report examines proposals to provide the death penalty for an unsuccessful attempt to kill the President, the committee's justifications for retaining capital punishment, and research alleging the death penalty has no deterrent effect. The committee believes that capital punishment serves deterrence, incapacitation, and retribution functions and finds arguments focusing on dangers of executing the innocent largely irrelevant due to current procedural safeguards. Moreover, polls have shown a remarkable rise in the number of Americans favoring the death penalty over the last 10 years. The report contains a section-by-section analysis of the bill, the committee's voting record, changes in existing law made by S.1765, and minority views of three committee members.