158
Opinion of the Court
Justice Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.
The federal Assimilative Crimes Act (ACA or Act) assimilates into federal law, and thereby makes applicable on federal enclaves such as Army bases, certain criminal laws of the State in which the enclave is located. It says:
"Whoever within or upon any [federal enclave] is guilty of any act or omission which, although not made punishable by any enactment of Congress, would be punishable if committed or omitted within the jurisdiction of the State . . . in which such place is situated, . . . shall be guilty of a like offense and subject to like punishment." 18 U. S. C. § 13(a).
The question in this case is whether the ACA makes applicable on a federal Army base located in Louisiana a state first-degree murder statute that defines first-degree murder to include the "killing of a human being . . . [w]hen the offender has the specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm upon a victim under the age of twelve . . . ." La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 14:30(A)(5) (West 1986 and Supp. 1997).
We hold that the ACA does not make the state provision part of federal law. A federal murder statute, 18 U. S. C. § 1111, therefore governs the crime at issue—the killing of a 4-year-old child "with malice aforethought" but without "premeditation." Under that statute this crime is second-degree, not first-degree, murder.
I
A federal grand jury indictment charged that petitioner, Debra Faye Lewis, and her husband James Lewis, beat and killed James' 4-year-old daughter while all three lived at Fort Polk, a federal Army base in Louisiana. Relying on the ACA, the indictment charged a violation of Louisiana's first-degree murder statute. La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 14:30 (West 1986 and Supp. 1993). Upon her conviction, the Dis-
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