The new death penalty provisions Bush announced today as part of his new terrorism bill (consisting of three provisions of Patriot Act II) should scare everyone. There is no intent to kill requirement. Death by tragedy is sufficient.

Consider this--as the ACLU has done:

While the DOJ labels this provision as providing for the death penalty for terrorist “murders,” there is no language in the text that requires any showing by the government of an intent by the defendant to kill; it is sufficient that death results from the defendant’s actions.

Some of the ACLU's examples:

• Protesters at Vieques Island, the military bombing range, cut a fence to trespass and a bomb explodes killing one of the protesters. The surviving protesters could face the death penalty.

• Or if Greenpeace try to block an oil tanker from entering a port to protest the company's safety record and a crew member drowns while attempting to block the activists' boat, the activists could face the death penalty.

Dangerous protest activities should not be treated as terrorism. And death penalty eligible offenses should require an intent to kill.