Signed by Governor Kate Brown

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that redefine the crime of aggravated murder, the only crime punishable by death.

Highlights:

• Defines “aggravated murder” as a criminal homicide of two or more persons that is premeditated and intentional with the intent to (Sec. 1):

• Intimidate, injure, or coerce a civilian population;

• Influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion;

• Affect the conduct of a government through destruction of property, murder, kidnapping, or aircraft piracy; or

• Second degree murder committed while the defendant was confined in a state, county, or municipal penal or correctional facility or was otherwise in custody and committed after the defendant was previously convicted in any jurisdiction of any homicide, which elements constitute the crime of aggravated murder or murder in the first degree, or premeditated and committed intentionally against a person under 14 years old.

• Requires the court to sentence a person convicted of murder in the first degree who was at least 15 years old at the time of the murder to be confined for a minimum of 30 years without possibility of parole, release to post-prison supervision, release on work release, or any other form of temporary leave or employment at a forest or work camp (Sec. 3).

• Authorizes the court to sentence a person convicted of murder in the first degree who was at least 18 years old at the time of committing the murder, to life imprisonment without the possibility of release or parole (Sec. 3).

• Requires the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision, upon the petition of a prisoner who has completed the minimum period of confinement, to hold a hearing to determine if the prisoner is likely to be rehabilitated within a reasonable period of time, with that being the sole issue (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that at the hearing the prisoner has all of the following (Sec. 3):

• The burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence the likelihood of rehabilitation within a reasonable period of time;

• The right, if the prisoner is without sufficient funds to employ an attorney, to be represented by legal counsel, appointed by the board, at board expense; and

• The right to a subpoena upon a showing of the general relevance and reasonable scope of the evidence sought, but any subpoena issued on behalf of the prisoner must be issued by the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision pursuant to rules adopted by the board.

• Requires unanimous vote of the board members or voting members that the prisoner is capable of rehabilitation and terms of confinement should be changed to life imprisonment with possibility of parole, release to post-prison supervision, or work release, otherwise the board will deny the relief sought in the prisoner’s petition (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that if the board denies relief sought, the board shall determine the date of the subsequent hearing and the prisoner can petition for an interim hearing (Sec. 3).

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that redefine the crime of aggravated murder, the only crime punishable by death.

Highlights:

• Defines “aggravated murder” as a criminal homicide of two or more persons that is premeditated and intentional with the intent to (Sec. 1):

• Intimidate, injure, or coerce a civilian population;

• Influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion;

• Affect the conduct of a government through destruction of property, murder, kidnapping, or aircraft piracy; or

• Second degree murder committed while the defendant was confined in a state, county, or municipal penal or correctional facility or was otherwise in custody and committed after the defendant was previously convicted in any jurisdiction of any homicide, which elements constitute the crime of aggravated murder or murder in the first degree, or premeditated and committed intentionally against a person under 14 years old.

• Requires the court to sentence a person convicted of murder in the first degree who was at least 15 years old at the time of the murder to be confined for a minimum of 30 years without possibility of parole, release to post-prison supervision, release on work release, or any other form of temporary leave or employment at a forest or work camp (Sec. 3).

• Authorizes the court to sentence a person convicted of murder in the first degree who was at least 18 years old at the time of committing the murder, to life imprisonment without the possibility of release or parole (Sec. 3).

• Requires the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision, upon the petition of a prisoner who has completed the minimum period of confinement, to hold a hearing to determine if the prisoner is likely to be rehabilitated within a reasonable period of time, with that being the sole issue (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that at the hearing the prisoner has all of the following (Sec. 3):

• The burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence the likelihood of rehabilitation within a reasonable period of time;

• The right, if the prisoner is without sufficient funds to employ an attorney, to be represented by legal counsel, appointed by the board, at board expense; and

• The right to a subpoena upon a showing of the general relevance and reasonable scope of the evidence sought, but any subpoena issued on behalf of the prisoner must be issued by the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision pursuant to rules adopted by the board.

• Requires unanimous vote of the board members or voting members that the prisoner is capable of rehabilitation and terms of confinement should be changed to life imprisonment with possibility of parole, release to post-prison supervision, or work release, otherwise the board will deny the relief sought in the prisoner’s petition (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that if the board denies relief sought, the board shall determine the date of the subsequent hearing and the prisoner can petition for an interim hearing (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text