1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Overview of Recent Anti-Lynching Proposals Updated November 18, 2020 This Legal Sidebar was initially published on June 29, 2020, but has been updated to reflect changes to the Justice in Policing Act. Fo
2、llowing the death of George Floyd in police custody in May and the fatal February shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, interest has heightened in legislation that would criminalize lynchingoften described as death or bodily injury caused by two or more individuals acting without legal authority. A number of s
3、tates have enacted anti-lynching laws, as localized crimes like murder tend to be a subject of state, rather than federal law. Although the conduct criminalized under those state laws can implicate various federal laws such as 18 U.S.C. 241, 242, there is no federal law expressly governing lynching
4、notwithstanding decades of legislative proposals on that front. In June, Members introduced two police reform billsthe George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (Justice in Policing Act) and the Just and Unifying Solutions To Invigorate Communities Everywhere Act of 2020 (JUSTICE Act)both of whic