U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn in a December 2025 file photo. Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, sponsored a bill aimed at making it easier for prosecutors to obtain convictions in car theft cases. ((Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Author: Elena Tittel/Medill News Service
WASHINGTON – A North Carolina jury convicted a man of hijacking a truck from a McDonald’s parking lot by holding something “cold and hard” around the driver’s neck. AND federal appeals court overturned the verdict in 2016, citing insufficient evidence.
“The evidence was insufficient to support a reasonable inference beyond a reasonable doubt that (Kenneth) Bailey had specific intent, contingent or otherwise, to kill or seriously harm his victim when he gained control of the vehicle,” the panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit wrote in its ruling.
Such cases have inspired some members of Congress to propose federal law that would make it easier for prosecutors to convict people of car theft. This could result in harsher sentences or even the death penalty.
Most car thieves are younger than 25, leading advocates and Democratic lawmakers to argue that a lower threshold for proving car theft could result in many young adults, especially black men, spending decades in prison.
“These tough-on-crime, really extreme sentencing regimes don’t really work and only end up incarcerating more young people and perpetuating racial disparities,” said Malik Pickett, senior attorney at Juvenile Law Center, a nonprofit public interest law firm and national advocacy organization.
Bill, called the Federal Auto Theft Enforcement Actwas introduced on May 1, 2025 by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. On April 30, the Senate Judiciary Committee adopted this solution by a majority of 18 to 4. However, this solution has not yet received a majority vote. An identical House version introduced by Rep. Barry Moore, R-Alabama, in November has yet to see any action.
According to data provided by the Criminal Justice Council, in nine US cities, car hijackings increased during the Covid-19 pandemic and peaked in 2023. Car hijackings have decreased since 2024.
In Washington, D.C., which has a higher than average car theft rate, there were 1,751 carjacking crimes between January 2023 and the end of May 2026, of which 1,273 involved firearms. – reports the Warsaw Police Headquarters.
Proving intent
Federal Auto Theft Act it first came into force in October 1992. On September 13, 1994, the Act was amended to add “Whoever drives a motor vehicle with the intention of causing death or serious bodily injury” and added the possibility of the death penalty in the event of the death of someone.
But some lawmakers said the need to prove intent makes it arduous for prosecutors to convict car thieves.
“We need to make it easier for federal prosecutors to combat and prevent car theft,” he added. Blackburn said in a statement after the April hearing. “My federal auto theft enforcement bill would make our streets safer for Tennesseans and all Americans by fixing a broken statute that makes it harder for federal prosecutors to hold auto theft criminals accountable.”
The bill would change the required standard of proof so that prosecutors must instead show that a defendant acted “knowingly” rather than proving that the defendant acted “with intent” to cause harm.
In some previous cases, prosecutors failed to prove intent, making prosecutions more arduous. For example, in the North Carolina case, Kenneth Lee Bailey Jr. stole someone’s truck in the McDonald’s parking lot. In his testimony, Bailey claimed that he approached the witness’s car and asked for a ride, promising to pay him. But when the witness refused, Bailey forced his way into the car and put something “cold and hard” to the driver’s neck. The prosecutor did not prove that it was a weapon.
Intentionality requires the prosecutor to prove that the defendant intended to cause harm, while consciously requires the prosecutor only to prove that the defendant had knowledge that his action would cause harm, even if that was not his intention.
“Federal prosecutors should not be mind readers to put dangerous criminals behind bars,” Moore said in a press release.
Some people say that the penalties for car theft are too harsh
People convicted of grave car theft crimes can face 15 to 25 years in prison, depending on whether grave bodily injury occurred. In the event of death, the defendant could face life in prison or the death penalty, the statute states.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said during an April hearing that easier convictions and tougher sentences for car theft could do more harm than good.
“Federal prison does not put young people on a better path,” Booker said. “Car theft is a serious crime… but I believe this bill makes some changes that have been proven wrong and undermine the sense of justice and decency.”
Youth criminal justice advocates have opposed changing federal auto theft laws to make them tougher.
Car thefts “are traditionally local crimes that should be left in the hands of the community,” said Liz Komar, senior policy adviser at the advocacy group The Sentencing Project. “They don’t need more aggressive federal penalties.”
Young people sentenced
Research conducted as part of the Conviction project shows that car theft convictions disproportionately affect young adults. Between 2020 and 2024, almost half of car theft convictions were among people 24 years of age or younger.
Data from the Criminal Justice Council also show this that black men are disproportionately convicted of car theft. From 2018 to 2022, 10 U.S. cities had higher crime rates for Black people than white people for carjacking, robbery, and motor vehicle theft.
Komar said young people committing these crimes may not realize what they are doing is a grave crime.
“I think what we’ve seen on social media, especially in some cities, is that car thefts are linked to young people engaging in risky behavior who don’t understand that what they’re doing is a crime,” Komar said. “They certainly don’t go into this with the intention of seriously harming someone and then spending decades in prison, and that could still result.”
Democrats and youth advocates opposed the recent legislation, citing research that has shown that the brains of incarcerated people under 25 are still developing. Research cited by The Sentencing Project has shown that young people are most likely to commit crimes during their tardy teens to mid-twenties, which raises questions about whether long prison sentences are appropriate for young defendants
But that doesn’t stop federal prosecutors from prosecuting minors and handing out lengthy sentences:
- In January 2020 Elijah Roberts, 19, of St. Louis was sentenced to 11 years and two months in federal prison for his role in an armed carjacking in February 2018 that left Roberts, who was 17 at the time.
- In May 2025 20-year-old Bryant Hoskins and 19-year-old Samuel Fancher Jr. from Indianapolis were sentenced to 17 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to two counts of armed carjacking that occurred in May 2024.
- In April 202621-year-old Jaquell Blackwell – a member of the “5zzly” crew, a gang from the Bronx – was sentenced to 63 months in prison for committing three armed carjackings. Another member, 21-year-old Abodul Azika, was sentenced in December 2025 to 87 months for his role in an armed carjacking with Blackwell and two other armed carjackings. The carjackings occurred between June 2022 and June 2023, meaning the men were approximately 18 years elderly at the time.
It’s tough to break free
Once you’ve been imprisoned, it can be arduous to get out. Deandre Govan in February 2024 was sentenced to nine years in federal prison at the age of 21 for a series of armed car hijackings he committed three years earlier. His plea for compassionate deliverance was rejected on March 11, 2026.
In his application, he argued that these offenses were committed before the age of 25, “clearly qualifying him to the class of juvenile offenders currently recognized by the Sentencing Commission and the courts as having increased opportunities for social rehabilitation.”
The U.S. Sentencing Commission, an independent federal agency, was created in response to widespread disparities in federal sentencing.
Govan also argued that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic made his sentence more severe than originally intended by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, and that he “endured prolonged lockdowns, suspension of rehabilitation programs, and increased exposure to illness, all while suffering from multiple mental health conditions.”[s] who was diagnosed [with] as a child,” according to the case files.
Nevertheless, the court ruled that such circumstances did not constitute extraordinary and compelling grounds for dismissal.
Medill News Service stories are reported and written by student journalists through the Washington-based Medill School program at Northwestern University.
