Recently in London, a 47-year-old railway ticket officer who had underlying respiratory problems, died from COVID-19 less than two weeks after a member of the public intentionally coughed and spat on her. The assailant announced to the railway officer that he was infected with COVID-19 and left. I found the incident appalling and asked myself, "Is this any different than if she were shot or stabbed to death?" Is it just as accurate to say that the railway ticket officer was "shot" with COVID-19, as sure as if it were a .45 caliber pistol? What if someone or some group decided to "spray the room" or engineer a mass attack using COVID-19? Should there be a federal law prohibiting such use or threatened use of this deadly virus? I say, "yes."

By way of analogy, in 2004 Congress passed Section 175c of Title 18 of the U.S. Code which makes it "unlawful for any person to knowingly produce, engineer, synthesize, acquire, transfer directly or indirectly, receive, possess, import, export, or use, or possess and threaten to use" smallpox. In support of the law, Congress found that smallpox was "an extremely serious, contagious, and sometimes fatal disease," adding that it "may appeal to terrorists." The mandatory minimum penalty for violating the Act is 25 years of imprisonment. And if you kill somebody under Section 175c, you get life. COVID-19 is no different from smallpox when it comes to the need to deter and punish the intentional use or threatened use of this pathogen.

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19, and it has become a worldwide, deadly pandemic that has wreaked havoc globally. COVID-19 has spread to every state in the Union. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) here in Atlanta, as of May 18 there were 1,480,349 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 89,407 deaths nationwide. In Georgia, there were 38,624 confirmed cases and 1,649 deaths.

To put the current pandemic in historical perspective, humankind's experience with smallpox is illustrative—a story of tragedy, suffering and ultimate triumph. Although its origin is unknown, variola virus (the virus that causes smallpox) is thought to date back to at least the 3rd century B.C. In 1967 alone (when the World Health Organization [WHO] launched a global immunization campaign), there were 10 million to 15 million cases of smallpox and two million deaths worldwide. Smallpox killed approximately 30% of those infected, with the last death occurring on September 11, 1978. Through science, effort and will, 13 years after the initiation of the WHO's immunization campaign, the world was declared free of smallpox disease on May 8, 1980.

But do we need a federal law for COVID-19? Some could say "no" and instead argue for the application of existing laws to deter and punish the use or threatened use of COVID-19 as a weapon. They might say, "What about a state charge of murder or attempted murder?" My response is that this suggestion is an attempt to jam a size 10 foot in a size 7 shoe. The COVID-19 problem is national (as well as global), and malicious acts may likely affect multiple states or the nation as a whole. In addition to what any state might do, federal deterrence and punishment demand that anyone found guilty of such a crime with an interstate or international nexus should be punished federally. For this reason alone, the use or threatened use of COVID-19 as a weapon should be its own federal crime.

For now, it does not matter whether the original source of COVID-19 was "spillover" from a "reservoir" animal host or a research lab. What matters for the killing of a railway officer or a potential mass infection by some malicious group is the enactment of a federal statute to deter and, if necessary, severely punish. COVID-19 infection could be a devastating and deadly biological weapon. Expelling COVID-19 in an intentional cough or projected sputum can be likened to a knife, a gun, or a van packed with explosives. And the fact that this coronavirus is new does not change the criminal analysis. Intentional infliction of injury or death is a crime, no matter the weapon. Here, the proposed law applies well-worn principles of justice to a novel coronavirus.

Congress should act. It should outlaw the possession and use or threatened use of SARS-Cov-2 as a weapon, whether by an individual riding the MARTA or a malicious or terrorist group. The law could be modeled after the smallpox law or simply included by adding "or SARS-Cov-2" after the term "variola virus" in Section 175c(a)(1) of Title 18 of the U.S. Code. However it's done, it should be done quickly. Halting the unintentional spread of COVID-19 is imperative; stopping the intentional use or threatened use of COVID-19 as a weapon is justice. In this unusual time of unpredictable behaviors and motives, such a legal move addresses a clear social and safety issue.

Bret Williams, a former federal prosecutor in Atlanta and New York, is the owner of BRW Law Group. It is a law firm that represents corporate and individual clients in inquiries and investigations in all stages of white-collar criminal litigation in federal, state and local courts.