U.S. Code > Title 38 Veterans' Benefits > PART II—GENERAL BENEFITS (§§ 1101—2413) > CHAPTER 24—NATIONAL CEMETERIES AND MEMORIALS (§§ 2400—2413) > § 2411. Prohibition against interment or memorialization in the National Cemetery Administration or Arlington National Cemetery of persons committing Federal or State capital crimes

§ 2411. Prohibition against interment or memorialization in the National Cemetery Administration or Arlington National Cemetery of persons committing Federal or State capital crimes

(a)
(1) In the case of a person described in subsection (b), the appropriate Federal official may not—
(A) inter the remains of such person in a cemetery in the National Cemetery Administration or in Arlington National Cemetery; or
(B) honor the memory of such person in a memorial area in a cemetery in the National Cemetery Administration (described in section 2403 (a) of this title) or in such an area in Arlington National Cemetery (described in section 2409 (a) of this title).
(2) In the case of a person described in subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2), the prohibition under paragraph (1) shall not apply unless written notice of a conviction referred to in subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2), as the case may be, is received by the appropriate Federal official before such official approves an application for the interment or memorialization of such person. Such written notice shall be furnished to such official by the Attorney General, in the case of a Federal capital crime, or by an appropriate State official, in the case of a State capital crime.
(b) A person referred to in subsection (a) is any of the following:
(1) A person who has been convicted of a Federal capital crime and whose conviction is final (other than a person whose sentence was commuted by the President).
(2) A person who has been convicted of a State capital crime and whose conviction is final (other than a person whose sentence was commuted by the Governor of a State).
(3) A person who—
(A) is found (as provided in subsection (c)) to have committed a Federal capital crime or a State capital crime, but
(B) has not been convicted of such crime by reason of such person not being available for trial due to death or flight to avoid prosecution.
(c) A finding under subsection (b)(3) shall be made by the appropriate Federal official. Any such finding may only be made based upon a showing of clear and convincing evidence, after an opportunity for a hearing in a manner prescribed by the appropriate Federal official.
(d) For purposes of this section:
(1) The term “Federal capital crime” means an offense under Federal law for which a sentence of imprisonment for life or the death penalty may be imposed.
(2) The term “State capital crime” means, under State law, the willful, deliberate, or premeditated unlawful killing of another human being for which a sentence of imprisonment for life or the death penalty may be imposed.
(3) The term “appropriate Federal official” means—
(A) the Secretary, in the case of the National Cemetery Administration; and
(B) the Secretary of the Army, in the case of Arlington National Cemetery.