No Public Executions in America Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5686 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5686

   To prohibit recording or broadcasting military executions and to 
        prohibit the use of Federal funds for public executions.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 15, 2026

Mr. Kelly (for himself and Mr. Coons), under authority of the order of 
the Senate of September 30, 2026, introduced the following bill; which 
 was ordered read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To prohibit recording or broadcasting military executions and to 
        prohibit the use of Federal funds for public executions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``No Public Executions in America 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON RECORDING OR BROADCASTING MILITARY EXECUTIONS.

    Subchapter IX of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 870 the following new section:
``Sec. 871. Art. 71. Prohibition on recording or broadcasting 
              executions
    ``(a) In General.--No officer, employee, or agent of the United 
States, or any person acting under the authority or direction of the 
Department of Defense, may, with respect to the execution of any person 
sentenced to death under this chapter, knowingly--
            ``(1) photograph, film, videotape, make an audio recording 
        of, or otherwise create an audio or visual recording or 
        depiction of, the execution;
            ``(2) broadcast, transmit, stream, or otherwise make 
        available to the public, in real time or on a delayed basis, an 
        audio or visual recording or depiction of the execution; or
            ``(3) publish, post, upload, distribute, or cause to be 
        distributed to the public an audio or visual recording or 
        depiction of the execution, including through a Federal 
        Government website, television broadcast, digital platform or 
        interface, nongovernment website, or other electronic 
        communications service.
    ``(b) Application.--The prohibitions under paragraphs (2) and (3) 
subsection (a) shall apply without regard to whether an audio or visual 
recording or depiction of an execution--
            ``(1) is recorded, stored, or preserved; or
            ``(2) is made by a person acting with the authorization of 
        the Department of Defense.
    ``(c) Limited Exception for Official Use.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense may authorize 
        the creation and retention of an audio or visual recording or 
        depiction of the execution of a person sentenced to death under 
        this chapter solely for official use, including for an 
        investigation, judicial proceeding, oversight by Congress, or 
        archival and historical purposes.
            ``(2) Prohibition on public dissemination.--A recording or 
        depiction created under paragraph (1) may not be publicly 
        disseminated except pursuant to a court order or an Act of 
        Congress.''.

SEC. 3. NO FEDERAL FUNDS FOR PUBLIC EXECUTIONS.

    No Federal funds may be obligated, expended, or otherwise used to 
photograph, film, record, broadcast, publish, or otherwise disseminate 
to the public any audio or visual recording or depiction of the 
execution of any person sentenced to death under chapter 47 of title 
10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), or any 
other provision of Federal law, unless expressly authorized by an Act 
of Congress enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act or 
pursuant to a court order.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.

    This Act and amendments made by section 2 of this Act shall--
            (1) take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; 
        and
            (2) apply to any execution carried out on or after that 
        date, without regard to the date on which the sentence of death 
        was imposed or approved by the President.
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