This is the sort of thing that another southern senator did to a criminal justice bill up for consideration nearly a decade ago.
Sen. Jeff Sessions pushed to have the death penalty added as a possible penalty to the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which he otherwise opposed.
Sessions succeeded in having the death penalty added to the bill, which was itself amended into the National Defense Authorization Act in 2009, but it was removed in conference committee due to the overwhelming opposition from civil rights groups to Sessions' "poison pill."
And, wow, looking for some of the info about that Sessions move, I found the webpage crystallization of "time is a flat circle." civilrights.org/oppose-the-ses… 
