Critics warn of years in prison for young adults under carjacking bill before Congress
The proposed federal law would make it easier for prosecutors to convict people of carjackings.
WASHINGTON – A North Carolina jury convicted a man for carjacking a truck from a McDonald’s parking lot by holding something “cold and hard” on the driver’s neck. A federal appeals court overturned the conviction in 2016, citing insufficient evidence.
“The evidence was insufficient to support a rational finding beyond a reasonable doubt that (Kenneth) Bailey possessed the specific intent, conditional or otherwise, to kill or seriously harm his victim when he took control of the vehicle,” a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit wrote in its ruling.
Cases like that inspired some in Congress to propose a federal law that would make it easier for prosecutors to convict people of carjackings. That could result in harsher sentences, even the death penalty.
People younger than 25 make up most of the carjackers, causing advocates and Democratic legislators to argue that a lower threshold for proving carjackings could result in many young adults, especially Black men, spending decades in prison.
“These tough on crime, really extreme sentencing schema don’t really work, and they only end up incarcerating more youth and perpetuating racial disparities,” said Malik Pickett, a senior attorney at the Juvenile Law Center, a nonprofit public interest law firm and national advocacy organization.
The bill, dubbed the Federal Carjacking Enforcement Act, was introduced on May 1, 2025, by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. The Senate Judiciary Committee on April 30 advanced the measure with an 18-4 vote. But the measure has not yet faced a floor vote. An identical House version introduced by Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., in November has not had any action yet.
According to data reported by the Council on Criminal Justice, across nine U.S.cities, carjackings rose during the COVID-19 pandemic and peaked in 2023. Since 2024, carjackings have declined.
In Washington, D.C., which has a higher-than-average carjacking rate, there have been 1,751 carjacking offenses between January 2023 and the end of May 2026, 1,273 of which involved a firearm, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
