The ability of the government to define and punish crimes does not stem from a right of the citizen.

The US can define and punish crimes because of several enumerated powers in Article 1 Section 8, combined with the Necessary and Proper Clause and an expansive reading of the Commerce Clause.

For example, murder for hire involves commerce. Murder on a ship implicates the enumerated power to "define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas". When a murder involves crossing a state border, it implicates the Commerce Clause (using a channel of interstate commerce).

United States v. Lopez 514 U.S. 549 (1995) describes some of the contours on what the federal government can regulate based on the Commerce Clause (internal citations removed):

Consistent with this structure, we have identified three broad categories of activity that Congress may regulate under its commerce power. First, Congress may regulate the use of the channels of interstate commerce. (The authority of Congress to keep the channels of interstate commerce free from immoral and injurious uses has been frequently sustained, and is no longer open to question.) Second, Congress is empowered to regulate and protect the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things in interstate commerce, even though the threat may come only from intrastate activities. Finally, Congress' commerce authority includes the power to regulate those activities having a substantial relation to interstate commerce i. e., those activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.

The ability of the government to define and punish crimes does not stem from a right of the citizen.

The US can define and punish crimes because of several enumerated powers in Article 1 Section 8, combined with the Necessary and Proper Clause and an expansive reading of the Commerce Clause.

For example, murder for hire involves commerce. Murder on a ship implicates the enumerated power to "define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas". When a murder involves crossing a state border, it implicates the Commerce Clause (using a channel of interstate commerce).

To clarify how the Commerce Clause can be used to justify the creation of a federal crime, United States v. Lopez 514 U.S. 549 (1995) describes some of the limits on what the Commerce Clause allows federal government to regulate (internal citations removed):

Consistent with this structure, we have identified three broad categories of activity that Congress may regulate under its commerce power. First, Congress may regulate the use of the channels of interstate commerce. (The authority of Congress to keep the channels of interstate commerce free from immoral and injurious uses has been frequently sustained, and is no longer open to question.) Second, Congress is empowered to regulate and protect the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things in interstate commerce, even though the threat may come only from intrastate activities. Finally, Congress' commerce authority includes the power to regulate those activities having a substantial relation to interstate commerce i. e., those activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.

The ability of the government to pass laws that prohibit murder etc. does not stem from a right of the citizen.

The US can define and punish crimes because of several enumerated powers in Article 1 Section 8, combined with the Necessary and Proper Clause and an expansive reading of the Commerce Clause.

For example, murder for hire involves commerce. Murder on a ship implicates the enumerated power to "define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas". When a murder involves crossing a state border, it implicates the Commerce Clause (using a channel of interstate commerce).

United States v. Lopez 514 U.S. 549 (1995) describes some of the contours on what the federal government can regulate based on the Commerce Clause (internal citations removed):

Consistent with this structure, we have identified three broad categories of activity that Congress may regulate under its commerce power. First, Congress may regulate the use of the channels of interstate commerce. (The authority of Congress to keep the channels of interstate commerce free from immoral and injurious uses has been frequently sustained, and is no longer open to question.) Second, Congress is empowered to regulate and protect the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things in interstate commerce, even though the threat may come only from intrastate activities. Finally, Congress' commerce authority includes the power to regulate those activities having a substantial relation to interstate commerce i. e., those activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.

The ability of the government to define and punish crimes does not stem from a right of the citizen.

The US can define and punish crimes because of several enumerated powers in Article 1 Section 8, combined with the Necessary and Proper Clause and an expansive reading of the Commerce Clause.

For example, murder for hire involves commerce. Murder on a ship implicates the enumerated power to "define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas". When a murder involves crossing a state border, it implicates the Commerce Clause (using a channel of interstate commerce).

United States v. Lopez 514 U.S. 549 (1995) describes some of the contours on what the federal government can regulate based on the Commerce Clause (internal citations removed):

Consistent with this structure, we have identified three broad categories of activity that Congress may regulate under its commerce power. First, Congress may regulate the use of the channels of interstate commerce. (The authority of Congress to keep the channels of interstate commerce free from immoral and injurious uses has been frequently sustained, and is no longer open to question.) Second, Congress is empowered to regulate and protect the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things in interstate commerce, even though the threat may come only from intrastate activities. Finally, Congress' commerce authority includes the power to regulate those activities having a substantial relation to interstate commerce i. e., those activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.