Cite as: 508 U. S. 129 (1993)
Stevens, J., dissenting
Luskin, 926 F. 2d 372 (CA4), cert. denied, 502 U. S. 815 (1991), decided a year later, the Court of Appeals upheld three 5-year sentences for three violations of § 924(c) committed on separate dates, even though the minimum mandatory penalty for a "second or subsequent conviction" was 10 years at the time of trial. Significantly, the Government did not challenge the 5-year sentences on the second and third convictions.8
At the very least, this equivocation on the part of those charged with enforcing § 924(c), combined with the understanding of repeat offender provisions current when § 924(c) was enacted, render the construction of § 924(c) sufficiently uncertain that the rule of lenity should apply. Cf. Simpson, 435 U. S., at 14-15; see United States v. Abreu, 962 F. 2d 1447, 1450-1451 (CA10 1992) (en banc). As one District Court judge said of § 924(c), in the course of a 1991 sentencing:
"The statute is not a model of clarity. Its use of the word 'conviction' rather than wording describing the offense suggests an intent to reach recidivists who repeat conduct after conviction in the judicial system for prior offenses. The legislative history suggests that Congress was trying to impose draconian punishment 'if he does it a second time.' 114 Cong. Rec. 22231, 22237 (1968). It is unclear whether this means a second time as a recidivist or a second time offender who has not faced deterrence by a prior sentence. Criminal statutes must be strictly construed. Nabors [901 F. 2d, at
8 "The 1988 amendment raised the penalty for repeat violators of the statute to twenty years. In the version that was in effect at the time of the present crimes, the penalty for repeat violators was ten years. Arguably, the district judge should have sentenced appellant to one five-year and two ten-year consecutive terms of imprisonment for his convictions under Counts V through VII. However, since the United States has not counter-appealed on this point, we will not address it." United States v. Luskin, 926 F. 2d, at 374, n. 2.
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