Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989
Encyclopedia
The Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 (BWATA) was a piece of U.S. legislation that was passed into law in 1990. It provided for the implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention
as well as criminal penalties for violation of its provisions. The law was amended in 1996 and has been used to prosecute several individuals.
(D
-WI
) and collected 15 co-sponsor
s on its way through the Senate. An amended version of the bill passed the Senate in November 1989.
The U.S. House of Representatives version of the bill, carrying the same title, was introduced to the House on January 3, 1989. The sponsor of BWATA in the House was Representative Robert W. Kastenmeier (D-WI) and the legislation picked up 52 co-sponsors as it went through the House. The House of Representatives passed BWATA on May 8, 1990. BWATA was signed into law by then-U.S. President George H.W. Bush on May 22, 1990.
BWATA has been expanded two separate times through the implementation of new laws. The first expansion closed certain loopholes that critics complained made prosecution difficult. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 amended the law to address these issues. (See "prosecution difficulties" below). BWATA was additionally expanded by the USA Patriot Act
in 2001.
(BW). Those terms were: vector, toxin
, biological agent
and delivery system. BWATA defined a biological agent as:
Previous U.S. interpretation of the Biological Weapons Convention
(BWC) ban on biological agents was in line with the BWATA definition. The U.S. now maintains that the Article I of the BWC, which explicitly bans bio-weapons, does not apply to "non-lethal" biological agents. According to the Federation of American Scientists
, current U.S. work on non-lethal agents greatly exceeds limitations set forth in the BWC.
The other three terms were defined in the act as follows:
BWATA, as passed, imposed no sentencing guidelines; this gave judges in the earliest prosecutions under the law wide latitude to impose sentences based on the provisions in the act. The specific section of the law that dictated sentencing for violatiors stated:
The act also provided that if a quantity of biological agent, or toxin appeared to have no peaceful purpose, it could be seized and subsequently destroyed. For these purposes the act allowed the U.S. Attorney General to obtain a seizure warrant
. In addition, passage of the act made violation of its provisions a federal crime
.
.
, was caught with 20,000 rounds of ammunition, white supremacist literature, four guns, $98,000, and 130 grams of ricin
. After Canadian officials let him go the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) investigated the case and on December 20, 1995 the FBI arrested Lavy at his farm in Arkansas
. A large quantity of castor beans was recovered from the scene and Lavy was charged under BWATA with possession of a biological toxin with intent to kill. Lavy was never convicted, two days before Christmas 1995 he hanged himself while awaiting arraignment and trial.
The first convictions under BWATA came in 1994 and 1995 and stemmed from a 1991 case in Minnesota
. An American anti-government group headquartered in Minneapolis known as the Minnesota Patriot's Council mail-ordered castor beans and managed to extract about .7 grams of 5% ricin, despite having no specific expertise in biological warfare. The group planned to use the ricin to assassinate a deputy U.S. marshal and a local sheriff. In the end, four members of the Patriot's Council were convicted in the case under the BWATA law. It was reported that the amount of ricin was enough to kill about 100 people.
Since the first convictions under BWATA others have faced prosecution stemming from the provisions in the law, some were successful, others were not. A man indicted under the provisions of the act for possessing ricin and nicotine sulfate in 1997 pled guilty to manufacturing ricin in October of that year. He was sentenced to more than 12 years in U.S. federal prison.
Biological Weapons Convention
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the...
as well as criminal penalties for violation of its provisions. The law was amended in 1996 and has been used to prosecute several individuals.
History
The Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 (BWATA) was drafted by University of Illinois international law professor Francis A. Boyle. The law, known as it went through the U.S. Senate during the 101st U.S. Congress as , was introduced to the Senate on May 16, 1989. The bill was sponsored by U.S. Senator Herb KohlHerb Kohl
Herbert H. "Herb" Kohl is the senior U.S. Senator from Wisconsin and a member of the Democratic Party. He is also a philanthropist and the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks National Basketball Association team...
(D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-WI
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
) and collected 15 co-sponsor
Sponsor (legislative)
A sponsor, in the United States Congress, is a senator or representative who introduces a bill or amendment and is its chief advocate. Committees are occasionally identified as sponsors of legislation as well. A sponsor is also sometimes called a "primary sponsor."It should not be assumed that a...
s on its way through the Senate. An amended version of the bill passed the Senate in November 1989.
The U.S. House of Representatives version of the bill, carrying the same title, was introduced to the House on January 3, 1989. The sponsor of BWATA in the House was Representative Robert W. Kastenmeier (D-WI) and the legislation picked up 52 co-sponsors as it went through the House. The House of Representatives passed BWATA on May 8, 1990. BWATA was signed into law by then-U.S. President George H.W. Bush on May 22, 1990.
BWATA has been expanded two separate times through the implementation of new laws. The first expansion closed certain loopholes that critics complained made prosecution difficult. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 amended the law to address these issues. (See "prosecution difficulties" below). BWATA was additionally expanded by the USA Patriot Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
in 2001.
Definitions
The act broadly defined several terms related to biological warfareBiological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
(BW). Those terms were: vector, toxin
Toxin
A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; man-made substances created by artificial processes are thus excluded...
, biological agent
Biological agent
A biological agent — also called bio-agent or biological threat agent — is a bacterium, virus, prion, or fungus which may cause infection, allergy, toxicity or otherwise create a hazard to human health. They can be used as a biological weapon in bioterrorism or biological warfare...
and delivery system. BWATA defined a biological agent as:
any micro-organism, virus, infectious substance, or biological product that may be engineered as a result of biotechnology, or any naturally occurring or bioengineered component of any such microorganism, virus, infectious substance, or biological product, capable of causing death, disease, or other biological malfunction in a human, an animal, a plant, or another living organism; deterioration of food, water, equipment, supplies, or material of any kind or deleterious alteration of the environment
Previous U.S. interpretation of the Biological Weapons Convention
Biological Weapons Convention
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the...
(BWC) ban on biological agents was in line with the BWATA definition. The U.S. now maintains that the Article I of the BWC, which explicitly bans bio-weapons, does not apply to "non-lethal" biological agents. According to the Federation of American Scientists
Federation of American Scientists
The Federation of American Scientists is a nonpartisan, 501 organization intent on using science and scientific analysis to attempt make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1945 by scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bombs...
, current U.S. work on non-lethal agents greatly exceeds limitations set forth in the BWC.
The other three terms were defined in the act as follows:
- Toxin: "whatever its origin or method of production -- any poisonous substance produced by a living organism; or any poisonous isomer, homolog, or derivative of such a substance".
- Delivery system: "any apparatus, equipment, device, or means of delivery specifically designed to deliver or disseminate a biological agent, toxin, or vector".
- Vector: "a living organism capable of carrying a biological agent or toxin to a host".
Provisions
The Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 (BWATA) extended the scope of bio-warfare materials regulation to include private individuals and non-state organizations. The act made it illegal to buy, sell or manufacture biological agents for use as a weapon. To that end, the law implemented the 1975 ratification of the Biological Weapons Convention. BWATA, which became known as Public Law 101-298 upon its passage and signing, provided criminal penalties for those who violated its provisions. The act specifically exempted peaceful, often characterized as "defensive", biological weapons research.BWATA, as passed, imposed no sentencing guidelines; this gave judges in the earliest prosecutions under the law wide latitude to impose sentences based on the provisions in the act. The specific section of the law that dictated sentencing for violatiors stated:
Whoever knowingly develops, produces, stockpiles, transfers, acquires, retains, or possesses any biological agent, toxin, or delivery system for use as a weapon, or knowingly assists a foreign state or any organization to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both.
The act also provided that if a quantity of biological agent, or toxin appeared to have no peaceful purpose, it could be seized and subsequently destroyed. For these purposes the act allowed the U.S. Attorney General to obtain a seizure warrant
Search and seizure
Search and seizure is a legal procedure used in many civil law and common law legal systems whereby police or other authorities and their agents, who suspect that a crime has been committed, do a search of a person's property and confiscate any relevant evidence to the crime.Some countries have...
. In addition, passage of the act made violation of its provisions a federal crime
Federal crime
In the United States, a federal crime or federal offense is a crime that is made illegal by U.S. federal legislation. In the United States, criminal law and prosecution happen at both the federal and the state levels; thus a “federal crime” is one that is prosecuted under federal criminal law, and...
.
Prosecution difficulties
One of the initial results of the law was the difficulty it presented in obtaining successful criminal prosecutions. Intent to use biological agents as a weapon had to be proven by prosecutors, thus making a defense that the agents were for "peaceful purposes" plausible. For example, an individual named Larry Wayne Harris attempted to procure biological agents from the American Type Culture Center for "defensive" research, per the BWC, in 1995. To address these issues the law was amended by the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. In part, the 1996 law required all private and academic organizations to register any possible BW agents with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In 1997 the two laws were called a "model" for what may be needed to prevent acts of domestic biological terrorismBioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
.
Prosecutions under the law
In April 1993 Thomas Lewis Lavy was arrested by Canadian border officials at the Alaska-Canada border. Lavy, an electrician from Valdez, AlaskaValdez, Alaska
Valdez is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,020. The city is one of the most important ports in Alaska. The port of Valdez was named in 1790 after the Spanish naval officer Antonio Valdés y...
, was caught with 20,000 rounds of ammunition, white supremacist literature, four guns, $98,000, and 130 grams of ricin
Ricin
Ricin , from the castor oil plant Ricinus communis, is a highly toxic, naturally occurring protein. A dose as small as a few grains of salt can kill an adult. The LD50 of ricin is around 22 micrograms per kilogram Ricin , from the castor oil plant Ricinus communis, is a highly toxic, naturally...
. After Canadian officials let him go the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) investigated the case and on December 20, 1995 the FBI arrested Lavy at his farm in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. A large quantity of castor beans was recovered from the scene and Lavy was charged under BWATA with possession of a biological toxin with intent to kill. Lavy was never convicted, two days before Christmas 1995 he hanged himself while awaiting arraignment and trial.
The first convictions under BWATA came in 1994 and 1995 and stemmed from a 1991 case in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. An American anti-government group headquartered in Minneapolis known as the Minnesota Patriot's Council mail-ordered castor beans and managed to extract about .7 grams of 5% ricin, despite having no specific expertise in biological warfare. The group planned to use the ricin to assassinate a deputy U.S. marshal and a local sheriff. In the end, four members of the Patriot's Council were convicted in the case under the BWATA law. It was reported that the amount of ricin was enough to kill about 100 people.
Since the first convictions under BWATA others have faced prosecution stemming from the provisions in the law, some were successful, others were not. A man indicted under the provisions of the act for possessing ricin and nicotine sulfate in 1997 pled guilty to manufacturing ricin in October of that year. He was sentenced to more than 12 years in U.S. federal prison.
See also
- Anti-terrorism legislationAnti-terrorism legislationAnti-terrorism legislation designs various types of laws passed in the aim of fighting terrorism. They usually, if not always, follow specific bombings or assassinations...
- Geneva ProtocolGeneva ProtocolThe Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, usually called the Geneva Protocol, is a treaty prohibiting the first use of chemical and biological weapons. It was signed at Geneva on June 17, 1925 and entered...
- Statement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and ProgramsStatement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and ProgramsThe "Statement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs" was a speech delivered on November 25, 1969, by U.S. President Richard Nixon. In the speech, Nixon announced the end of the U.S. offensive biological weapons program and reaffirmed a no-first-use policy for chemical weapons...
- United States biological weapons program
- USA PATRIOT ActUSA PATRIOT ActThe USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
External links
- "Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996", full resources from THOMAS.gov, accessed January 10, 2009.
- Boyle, Francis A.. "Faculty Lecture on Bio/Warfare/Terrorism/Weapons", April 18, 2002, University of Illinois, accessed January 10, 2008.