Signed by Governor Kate Brown

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends juvenile justice criminal sentencing.

Highlights:

• Prohibits an individual under the age of 18 who has been convicted of aggravated murder, to death or life imprisonment without the possibility of release or parole (Sec. 5). 

• Requires a judgement document in criminal action to indicate the age of the defendant at the time of commitment of the offense, if the court sentences the defendant to incarceration (Sec. 1). 

• Specifies these rules for determining the defendant’s age at the time of commitment of a multiple offenses (Sec. 1):

• If the defendant is convicted of 2 or more offences occurring on different days, the defendant’s age will be calculated using the earliest date; and 

• If the defendant is convicted of an offense occurring within a range of dates, the defendant's age will be calculated using the date at the begging of the range. 

• Requires the court to consider the following, but not limited to, circumstances when determining the appropriate sentence for a person under 18 years old at the time of committing an offense (Sec. 24):

• The individual’s age, intellectual capacity, and impetuousness at the time of the offense;

• The individual’s family and community environment, history of trauma and prior involvement in the juvenile dependency system at the time of the offense;

• The individual’s ability at the time of the offense to appreciate the risks and consequences of the conduct constituting the offense;

• The individual’s community involvement prior to the offense;

• Any peer or familiar pressure to which the person was subjected to at the time of the offense;

• Whether and to what extent an adult was involved in the commission of the offense;

• The individual's capacity for rehabilitation; and 

• The individual’s school records and special education evaluations. 

• Authorizes a person convicted of an offense committed when they were under 18 years old serving a sentence of imprisonment, to be eligible for release on parole or post-prison supervision, after the person has served 15 years of imprisonment (Sec. 25).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends juvenile justice criminal sentencing.

Highlights:

• Prohibits an individual under the age of 18 who has been convicted of aggravated murder, to death or life imprisonment without the possibility of release or parole (Sec. 5). 

• Requires a judgement document in criminal action to indicate the age of the defendant at the time of commitment of the offense, if the court sentences the defendant to incarceration (Sec. 1). 

• Specifies these rules for determining the defendant’s age at the time of commitment of a multiple offenses (Sec. 1):

• If the defendant is convicted of 2 or more offences occurring on different days, the defendant’s age will be calculated using the earliest date; and 

• If the defendant is convicted of an offense occurring within a range of dates, the defendant's age will be calculated using the date at the begging of the range. 

• Requires the court to consider the following, but not limited to, circumstances when determining the appropriate sentence for a person under 18 years old at the time of committing an offense (Sec. 24):

• The individual’s age, intellectual capacity, and impetuousness at the time of the offense;

• The individual’s family and community environment, history of trauma and prior involvement in the juvenile dependency system at the time of the offense;

• The individual’s ability at the time of the offense to appreciate the risks and consequences of the conduct constituting the offense;

• The individual’s community involvement prior to the offense;

• Any peer or familiar pressure to which the person was subjected to at the time of the offense;

• Whether and to what extent an adult was involved in the commission of the offense;

• The individual's capacity for rehabilitation; and 

• The individual’s school records and special education evaluations. 

• Authorizes a person convicted of an offense committed when they were under 18 years old serving a sentence of imprisonment, to be eligible for release on parole or post-prison supervision, after the person has served 15 years of imprisonment (Sec. 25).

Full Bill Text