AMENDMENT 82

Amendment: The Commentary to §2A1.1 captioned "Statutory Provision" is amended by deleting "Provision" and inserting in lieu thereof "Provisions", and by inserting "; 21 U.S.C. § 848(e)" at the end immediately before the period.

The Commentary to §2A1.1 captioned "Application Note" is amended in the caption by deleting "Note" and inserting in lieu thereof "Notes", and by inserting the following additional note:

"2. If the defendant is convicted under 21 U.S.C. § 848(e), a sentence of death may be imposed under the specific provisions contained in that statute. This guideline applies when a sentence of death is not imposed.".

The Commentary to §2A1.1 captioned "Background" is amended by deleting "statute" and inserting in lieu thereof "18 U.S.C. § 1111", and by inserting immediately after the first sentence:

"Prior to the applicability of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, a defendant convicted under this statute and sentenced to life imprisonment could be paroled (see 18 U.S.C. § 4205(a)). Because of the abolition of parole by that Act, the language of 18 U.S.C. § 1111(b) (which was not amended by the Act) appears on its face to provide a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment for this offense. Other provisions of the Act, however, classify this offense as a Class A felony (see 18 U.S.C. § 3559(a)(1)), for which a term of imprisonment of any period of time is authorized as an alternative to imprisonment for the duration of the defendant’s life (see 18 U.S.C. §§ 3559(b), 3581(b)(1), as amended); hence, the relevance of the discussion in Application Note 1, supra, regarding circumstances in which a sentence less than life may be appropriate for a conviction under this statute."

The Commentary to §2A1.1 captioned "Background" is amended by inserting the following additional paragraph at the end:

" The maximum penalty authorized under 21 U.S.C. § 848(e) is death or life imprisonment. If a term of imprisonment is imposed, the statutorily required minimum term is twenty years.".

Reason for Amendment: The purpose of this amendment is to incorporate new first-degree murder offenses created by Section 7001 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 where the death penalty is not imposed. This amendment also clarifies the existing commentary to this guideline.

Effective Date: The effective date of this amendment is November 1, 1989.