Provisions related to genocide are incorporated in Part 1 of Title 18 of the US Code.
Any person with an intention to destroy a group which may be a national, or ethnic, or racial or, religious in nature, kills or causes bodily injuries to the members of such group or even causes permanent mental impairment by application of drugs or by torture is said to have committed the offence of genocide. Genocide may occur both during peace time as well as during war.
In case of genocide resulting to death, the wrongdoer is punished by death or imprisonment for life along with a fine which may extend up to $1, 000, 000, or both.
The term "ethnic group" has been defined under the US Code as "a set of individuals whose identity as such is distinctive in terms of common cultural traditions or heritage."
Similarly, the term "religious group" has been defined as "a set of individuals whose identity as such is distinctive in terms of common religious creed, beliefs, doctrines, practices, or rituals".
According to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, genocide means any of the following acts:
- "Killing members of the group;
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
- Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
- Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."
(More:http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sup_01_18_10_I_20_50A.html)
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