Justice for Murder Victims Act

House Bill

H.R. 1353

119th Congress

Justice for Murder Victims Act

In Committee

Introduced:Feb 13, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Gus M. Bilirakis

Representative

Republican

FL-12

Cosponsors

1

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary

The Justice for Murder Victims Act removes time limitations between the act causing death and the victims actual death for federal homicide prosecutions. This ensures perpetrators can be prosecuted for murder even when victims survive for extended periods before dying from injuries, closing a potential loophole in federal law.

Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

The Justice for Murder Victims Act removes time limitations between the act causing death and the victims actual death for federal homicide prosecutions. This ensures perpetrators can be prosecuted for murder even when victims survive for extended periods before dying from injuries, closing a potential loophole in federal law.

Last updated: 12/30/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Justice for Murder Victims Act This bill allows a prosecution to be instituted for any federal homicide offense without regard to the time that elapsed between the act or omission that caused the death of the victim and the death of the victim.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Removes time limits between criminal act and victims death
Applies to all federal homicide offenses
Allows prosecution regardless of survival period
Closes loophole for delayed-death homicides
Ensures justice when victims die from injuries years later
Updates federal law to match modern medical realities

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This bill addresses situations where victims survive serious assaults for extended periods due to modern medicine but eventually die from their injuries. Some jurisdictions have had difficulty prosecuting such cases as murder due to outdated time limitations. The bill ensures that perpetrators cannot escape murder charges simply because their victims lived longer than expected. This particularly benefits cases involving traumatic brain injuries or other conditions with delayed mortality.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Crime and Law Enforcement

Related Subjects

Crime victims

Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation

Violent crime

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

1353, 119th Congress (2025). "Justice for Murder Victims Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-1353