Full Text of HB1615 101st General Assembly
HB1615 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020 HB1615 Introduced , by Rep. Justin Slaughter SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 720 ILCS 5/9-1 | from Ch. 38, par. 9-1 |
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Amends the Criminal Code of 2012 concerning first degree murder. Provides that a person who kills an individual without lawful justification commits
first degree murder if he or she acting alone, commits or attempts to commit a forcible felony other than
second degree murder and, in the course of and in furtherance of the crime, he or she personally causes the death of an individual. Provides that a person who kills an individual without lawful justification commits
first degree murder if he or she, when acting with one or more participants, commits or attempts to commit a forcible felony other than second degree murder, and in the course of and in furtherance of the offense, another participant in the offense causes the death of an individual, and he or she knew that the other participant would engage in conduct that would result in death or great bodily harm. Makes technical changes.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning criminal law.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by changing | 5 | | Section 9-1 as follows: | 6 | | (720 ILCS 5/9-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 9-1) | 7 | | Sec. 9-1. First degree murder; death penalties; | 8 | | exceptions; separate
hearings; proof; findings; appellate | 9 | | procedures; reversals.
| 10 | | (a) A person who kills an individual without lawful | 11 | | justification commits
first degree murder if , in performing the | 12 | | acts which cause the death :
| 13 | | (1) in performing the acts which cause the death, he or | 14 | | she either intends to kill or do great bodily harm to that
| 15 | | individual or another, or knows that such acts will cause | 16 | | death to that
individual or another; or
| 17 | | (2) in performing the acts which cause the death, he or | 18 | | she knows that such acts create a strong probability of | 19 | | death or
great bodily harm to that individual or another; | 20 | | or
| 21 | | (3) he or she, acting alone, commits or attempts to | 22 | | commit is attempting or committing a forcible felony other | 23 | | than
second degree murder and, in the course of and in |
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| 1 | | furtherance of the crime, he or she personally causes the | 2 | | death of an individual; or .
| 3 | | (4) he or she, when acting with one or more | 4 | | participants, commits or attempts to commit a forcible | 5 | | felony other than second degree murder, and in the course | 6 | | of and in furtherance of the offense, another participant | 7 | | in the offense causes the death of an individual, and he or | 8 | | she knew that the other participant would engage in conduct | 9 | | that would result in death or great bodily harm. | 10 | | (b) Aggravating Factors. A defendant who at the time of the
| 11 | | commission of the offense has attained the age of 18 or more | 12 | | and who has
been found guilty of first degree murder may be | 13 | | sentenced to death if:
| 14 | | (1) the murdered individual was a peace officer or | 15 | | fireman killed in
the course of performing his official | 16 | | duties, to prevent the performance
of his official duties, | 17 | | or in retaliation for performing his official
duties, and | 18 | | the defendant knew or
should have known that the murdered | 19 | | individual was a peace officer or
fireman; or
| 20 | | (2) the murdered individual was an employee of an | 21 | | institution or
facility of the Department of Corrections, | 22 | | or any similar local
correctional agency, killed in the | 23 | | course of performing his official
duties, to prevent the | 24 | | performance of his official duties, or in
retaliation for | 25 | | performing his official duties, or the murdered
individual | 26 | | was an inmate at such institution or facility and was |
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| 1 | | killed on the
grounds thereof, or the murdered individual | 2 | | was otherwise present in such
institution or facility with | 3 | | the knowledge and approval of the chief
administrative | 4 | | officer thereof; or
| 5 | | (3) the defendant has been convicted of murdering two | 6 | | or more
individuals under subsection (a) of this Section or | 7 | | under any law of the
United States or of any state which is | 8 | | substantially similar to
subsection (a) of this Section | 9 | | regardless of whether the deaths
occurred as the result of | 10 | | the same act or of several related or
unrelated acts so | 11 | | long as the deaths were the result of either an intent
to | 12 | | kill more than one person or of separate acts which
the | 13 | | defendant knew would cause death or create a strong | 14 | | probability of
death or great bodily harm to the murdered | 15 | | individual or another; or
| 16 | | (4) the murdered individual was killed as a result of | 17 | | the
hijacking of an airplane, train, ship, bus or other | 18 | | public conveyance; or
| 19 | | (5) the defendant committed the murder pursuant to a | 20 | | contract,
agreement or understanding by which he was to | 21 | | receive money or anything
of value in return for committing | 22 | | the murder or procured another to
commit the murder for | 23 | | money or anything of value; or
| 24 | | (6) the murdered individual was killed in the course of | 25 | | another felony if:
| 26 | | (a) the murdered individual:
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| 1 | | (i) was actually killed by the defendant, or
| 2 | | (ii) received physical injuries personally | 3 | | inflicted by the defendant
substantially | 4 | | contemporaneously with physical injuries caused by | 5 | | one or
more persons for whose conduct the defendant | 6 | | is legally accountable under
Section 5-2 of this | 7 | | Code, and the physical injuries inflicted by | 8 | | either
the defendant or the other person or persons | 9 | | for whose conduct he is legally
accountable caused | 10 | | the death of the murdered individual; and
| 11 | | (b) in performing the acts which caused the death | 12 | | of the murdered
individual or which resulted in | 13 | | physical injuries personally inflicted by
the | 14 | | defendant on the murdered individual under the | 15 | | circumstances of
subdivision (ii) of subparagraph (a) | 16 | | of paragraph (6) of subsection (b) of
this Section, the | 17 | | defendant acted with the intent to kill the murdered
| 18 | | individual or with the knowledge that his acts created | 19 | | a strong probability
of death or great bodily harm to | 20 | | the murdered individual or another; and
| 21 | | (c) the other felony was an inherently violent | 22 | | crime
or the attempt to commit an inherently
violent | 23 | | crime.
In this subparagraph (c), "inherently violent | 24 | | crime" includes, but is not
limited to, armed robbery, | 25 | | robbery, predatory criminal sexual assault of a
child,
| 26 | | aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated |
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| 1 | | kidnapping, aggravated vehicular
hijacking,
aggravated | 2 | | arson, aggravated stalking, residential burglary, and | 3 | | home
invasion; or
| 4 | | (7) the murdered individual was under 12 years of age | 5 | | and the
death resulted from exceptionally brutal or heinous | 6 | | behavior indicative of
wanton cruelty; or
| 7 | | (8) the defendant committed the murder with intent to
| 8 | | prevent the murdered individual from testifying or | 9 | | participating in any
criminal investigation or prosecution
| 10 | | or giving material assistance to the State in any | 11 | | investigation or
prosecution, either against the defendant | 12 | | or another; or the defendant
committed the murder because | 13 | | the murdered individual was a witness in any
prosecution or | 14 | | gave material assistance to the State in any investigation
| 15 | | or prosecution, either against the defendant or another;
| 16 | | for purposes of this paragraph (8), "participating in any | 17 | | criminal
investigation
or prosecution" is intended to | 18 | | include those appearing in the proceedings in
any capacity | 19 | | such as trial judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys,
| 20 | | investigators, witnesses, or jurors; or
| 21 | | (9) the defendant, while committing an offense | 22 | | punishable under
Sections 401, 401.1, 401.2, 405, 405.2, | 23 | | 407 or 407.1 or subsection (b) of
Section
404 of the | 24 | | Illinois Controlled Substances Act, or while engaged in a
| 25 | | conspiracy or solicitation to commit such offense, | 26 | | intentionally killed an
individual or counseled, |
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| 1 | | commanded, induced, procured or caused the
intentional | 2 | | killing of the murdered individual; or
| 3 | | (10) the defendant was incarcerated in an institution | 4 | | or facility of
the Department of Corrections at the time of | 5 | | the murder, and while
committing an offense punishable as a | 6 | | felony under Illinois law, or while
engaged in a conspiracy | 7 | | or solicitation to commit such offense,
intentionally | 8 | | killed an individual or counseled, commanded, induced,
| 9 | | procured or caused the intentional killing of the murdered | 10 | | individual; or
| 11 | | (11) the murder was committed in a cold, calculated and | 12 | | premeditated
manner pursuant to a preconceived plan, | 13 | | scheme or design to take a human
life by unlawful means, | 14 | | and the conduct of the defendant created a
reasonable | 15 | | expectation that the death of a human being would result
| 16 | | therefrom; or
| 17 | | (12) the murdered individual was an emergency medical | 18 | | technician -
ambulance, emergency medical technician - | 19 | | intermediate, emergency medical
technician - paramedic, | 20 | | ambulance driver, or
other medical assistance or first aid | 21 | | personnel, employed by a municipality
or other | 22 | | governmental unit, killed in the course of performing his | 23 | | official
duties, to prevent the performance of his official | 24 | | duties, or in retaliation
for performing his official | 25 | | duties, and the defendant knew or should have
known that | 26 | | the murdered individual was an emergency medical |
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| 1 | | technician -
ambulance, emergency medical technician - | 2 | | intermediate, emergency medical
technician - paramedic, | 3 | | ambulance driver, or
other medical assistance or first aid | 4 | | personnel; or
| 5 | | (13) the defendant was a principal administrator, | 6 | | organizer, or leader
of a calculated criminal drug | 7 | | conspiracy consisting of a hierarchical position
of | 8 | | authority superior to that of all other members of the | 9 | | conspiracy, and the
defendant counseled, commanded, | 10 | | induced, procured, or caused the intentional
killing of the | 11 | | murdered person;
or
| 12 | | (14) the murder was intentional and involved the | 13 | | infliction of torture.
For
the purpose of this Section | 14 | | torture means the infliction of or subjection to
extreme | 15 | | physical pain, motivated by an intent to increase or | 16 | | prolong the pain,
suffering or agony of the victim; or
| 17 | | (15) the murder was committed as a result of the | 18 | | intentional discharge
of a firearm by the defendant from a | 19 | | motor vehicle and the victim was not
present within the | 20 | | motor vehicle; or
| 21 | | (16) the murdered individual was 60 years of age or | 22 | | older and the death
resulted
from exceptionally brutal or | 23 | | heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty; or
| 24 | | (17) the murdered individual was a person with a | 25 | | disability and the defendant knew
or
should have known that | 26 | | the murdered individual was a person with a disability. For |
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| 1 | | purposes of
this paragraph (17), "person with a disability" | 2 | | means a person who suffers from a
permanent physical or | 3 | | mental impairment resulting from disease, an injury,
a | 4 | | functional disorder, or a congenital condition that | 5 | | renders the person
incapable of
adequately providing for | 6 | | his or her own health or personal care; or
| 7 | | (18) the murder was committed by reason of any person's | 8 | | activity as a
community policing volunteer or to prevent | 9 | | any person from engaging in activity
as a community | 10 | | policing volunteer; or
| 11 | | (19) the murdered individual was subject to an order of | 12 | | protection and the
murder was committed by a person against | 13 | | whom the same order of protection was
issued under the | 14 | | Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986; or
| 15 | | (20) the murdered individual was known by the defendant | 16 | | to be a teacher or
other person employed in any school and | 17 | | the teacher or other employee is upon
the grounds of a | 18 | | school or grounds adjacent to a school, or is in any part | 19 | | of a
building used for school purposes; or
| 20 | | (21) the murder was committed by the defendant in | 21 | | connection with or as
a
result of the offense of terrorism | 22 | | as defined in Section 29D-14.9 of this
Code.
| 23 | | (b-5) Aggravating Factor; Natural Life Imprisonment. A | 24 | | defendant who has been found guilty of first degree murder and | 25 | | who at the time of the commission of the offense had attained | 26 | | the age of 18 years or more may be sentenced to natural life |
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| 1 | | imprisonment if
(i) the murdered individual was a physician, | 2 | | physician assistant, psychologist, nurse, or advanced practice | 3 | | registered nurse, (ii) the defendant knew or should have
known | 4 | | that the murdered individual was a physician, physician | 5 | | assistant, psychologist, nurse, or advanced practice | 6 | | registered nurse, and (iii) the murdered individual was killed | 7 | | in the course of acting in his or her capacity as a physician, | 8 | | physician assistant, psychologist, nurse, or advanced practice | 9 | | registered nurse, or to prevent him or her from acting in that | 10 | | capacity, or in retaliation
for his or her acting in that | 11 | | capacity. | 12 | | (c) Consideration of factors in Aggravation and | 13 | | Mitigation.
| 14 | | The court shall consider, or shall instruct the jury to | 15 | | consider any
aggravating and any mitigating factors which are | 16 | | relevant to the
imposition of the death penalty. Aggravating | 17 | | factors may include but
need not be limited to those factors | 18 | | set forth in subsection (b).
Mitigating factors may include but | 19 | | need not be limited to the following:
| 20 | | (1) the defendant has no significant history of prior | 21 | | criminal
activity;
| 22 | | (2) the murder was committed while the defendant was | 23 | | under
the influence of extreme mental or emotional | 24 | | disturbance, although not such
as to constitute a defense | 25 | | to prosecution;
| 26 | | (3) the murdered individual was a participant in the
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| 1 | | defendant's homicidal conduct or consented to the | 2 | | homicidal act;
| 3 | | (4) the defendant acted under the compulsion of threat | 4 | | or
menace of the imminent infliction of death or great | 5 | | bodily harm;
| 6 | | (5) the defendant was not personally present during
| 7 | | commission of the act or acts causing death;
| 8 | | (6) the defendant's background includes a history of | 9 | | extreme emotional
or physical abuse;
| 10 | | (7) the defendant suffers from a reduced mental | 11 | | capacity.
| 12 | | Provided, however, that an action that does not otherwise | 13 | | mitigate first degree murder cannot qualify as a mitigating | 14 | | factor for first degree murder because of the discovery, | 15 | | knowledge, or disclosure of the victim's sexual orientation as | 16 | | defined in Section 1-103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act. | 17 | | (d) Separate sentencing hearing.
| 18 | | Where requested by the State, the court shall conduct a | 19 | | separate
sentencing proceeding to determine the existence of | 20 | | factors set forth in
subsection (b) and to consider any | 21 | | aggravating or mitigating factors as
indicated in subsection | 22 | | (c). The proceeding shall be conducted:
| 23 | | (1) before the jury that determined the defendant's | 24 | | guilt; or
| 25 | | (2) before a jury impanelled for the purpose of the | 26 | | proceeding if:
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| 1 | | A. the defendant was convicted upon a plea of | 2 | | guilty; or
| 3 | | B. the defendant was convicted after a trial before | 4 | | the court
sitting without a jury; or
| 5 | | C. the court for good cause shown discharges the | 6 | | jury that
determined the defendant's guilt; or
| 7 | | (3) before the court alone if the defendant waives a | 8 | | jury
for the separate proceeding.
| 9 | | (e) Evidence and Argument.
| 10 | | During the proceeding any information relevant to any of | 11 | | the factors
set forth in subsection (b) may be presented by | 12 | | either the State or the
defendant under the rules governing the | 13 | | admission of evidence at
criminal trials. Any information | 14 | | relevant to any additional aggravating
factors or any | 15 | | mitigating factors indicated in subsection (c) may be
presented | 16 | | by the State or defendant regardless of its admissibility
under | 17 | | the rules governing the admission of evidence at criminal | 18 | | trials.
The State and the defendant shall be given fair | 19 | | opportunity to rebut any
information received at the hearing.
| 20 | | (f) Proof.
| 21 | | The burden of proof of establishing the existence of any of | 22 | | the
factors set forth in subsection (b) is on the State and | 23 | | shall not be
satisfied unless established beyond a reasonable | 24 | | doubt.
| 25 | | (g) Procedure - Jury.
| 26 | | If at the separate sentencing proceeding the jury finds |
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| 1 | | that none of
the factors set forth in subsection (b) exists, | 2 | | the court shall sentence
the defendant to a term of | 3 | | imprisonment under Chapter V of the Unified
Code of | 4 | | Corrections. If there is a unanimous finding by the jury that
| 5 | | one or more of the factors set forth in subsection (b) exist, | 6 | | the jury
shall consider aggravating and mitigating factors as | 7 | | instructed by the
court and shall determine whether the | 8 | | sentence of death shall be
imposed. If the jury determines | 9 | | unanimously, after weighing the factors in
aggravation and | 10 | | mitigation, that death is the appropriate sentence, the court | 11 | | shall sentence the defendant to death.
If the court does not | 12 | | concur with the jury determination that death is the
| 13 | | appropriate sentence, the court shall set forth reasons in | 14 | | writing
including what facts or circumstances the court relied | 15 | | upon,
along with any relevant
documents, that compelled the | 16 | | court to non-concur with the sentence. This
document and any | 17 | | attachments shall be part of the record for appellate
review. | 18 | | The court shall be bound by the jury's sentencing | 19 | | determination.
| 20 | | If after weighing the factors in aggravation and | 21 | | mitigation, one or more
jurors determines that death is not the | 22 | | appropriate sentence,
the
court shall sentence the defendant to | 23 | | a term of imprisonment under
Chapter V of the Unified Code of | 24 | | Corrections.
| 25 | | (h) Procedure - No Jury.
| 26 | | In a proceeding before the court alone, if the court finds |
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| 1 | | that none
of the factors found in subsection (b) exists, the | 2 | | court shall sentence
the defendant to a term of imprisonment | 3 | | under Chapter V of the Unified
Code of Corrections.
| 4 | | If the Court determines that one or more of the factors set | 5 | | forth in
subsection (b) exists, the Court shall consider any | 6 | | aggravating and
mitigating factors as indicated in subsection | 7 | | (c). If the Court
determines, after weighing the factors in | 8 | | aggravation and mitigation, that
death is the appropriate | 9 | | sentence, the Court shall sentence the
defendant to death.
| 10 | | If
the court finds that death is not the
appropriate | 11 | | sentence, the
court shall sentence the defendant to a term of | 12 | | imprisonment under
Chapter V of the Unified Code of | 13 | | Corrections.
| 14 | | (h-5) Decertification as a capital case.
| 15 | | In a case in which the defendant has been found guilty of | 16 | | first degree murder
by a judge or jury, or a case on remand for | 17 | | resentencing, and the State seeks
the death penalty as an | 18 | | appropriate
sentence,
on the court's own motion or the written | 19 | | motion of the defendant, the court
may decertify the case as a | 20 | | death penalty case if the court finds that the only
evidence | 21 | | supporting the defendant's conviction is the uncorroborated | 22 | | testimony
of an informant witness, as defined in Section 115-21 | 23 | | of the Code of Criminal
Procedure of 1963, concerning the | 24 | | confession or admission of the defendant or
that the sole | 25 | | evidence against the defendant is a single eyewitness or single
| 26 | | accomplice without any other corroborating evidence.
If the |
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| 1 | | court decertifies the case as a capital case
under either of | 2 | | the grounds set forth above, the court shall issue a
written | 3 | | finding. The State may pursue its right to appeal the | 4 | | decertification
pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 604(a)(1). If | 5 | | the court does not
decertify the case as a capital case, the | 6 | | matter shall proceed to the
eligibility phase of the sentencing | 7 | | hearing.
| 8 | | (i) Appellate Procedure.
| 9 | | The conviction and sentence of death shall be subject to | 10 | | automatic
review by the Supreme Court. Such review shall be in | 11 | | accordance with
rules promulgated by the Supreme Court.
The | 12 | | Illinois Supreme Court may overturn the death sentence, and | 13 | | order the
imposition of imprisonment under Chapter V of the | 14 | | Unified Code of
Corrections if the court finds that the death | 15 | | sentence is fundamentally
unjust as applied to the particular | 16 | | case.
If the Illinois Supreme Court finds that the
death | 17 | | sentence is fundamentally unjust as applied to the particular | 18 | | case,
independent of any procedural grounds for relief, the | 19 | | Illinois Supreme Court
shall issue a written opinion explaining | 20 | | this finding.
| 21 | | (j) Disposition of reversed death sentence.
| 22 | | In the event that the death penalty in this Act is held to | 23 | | be
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States | 24 | | or of the
State of Illinois, any person convicted of first | 25 | | degree murder shall be
sentenced by the court to a term of | 26 | | imprisonment under Chapter V of the
Unified Code of |
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| 1 | | Corrections.
| 2 | | In the event that any death sentence pursuant to the | 3 | | sentencing
provisions of this Section is declared | 4 | | unconstitutional by the Supreme
Court of the United States or | 5 | | of the State of Illinois, the court having
jurisdiction over a | 6 | | person previously sentenced to death shall cause the
defendant | 7 | | to be brought before the court, and the court shall sentence
| 8 | | the defendant to a term of imprisonment under Chapter V of the
| 9 | | Unified Code of Corrections.
| 10 | | (k) Guidelines for seeking the death penalty.
| 11 | | The Attorney General and
State's Attorneys Association | 12 | | shall consult on voluntary guidelines for
procedures governing | 13 | | whether or not to seek the death penalty. The guidelines
do not
| 14 | | have the force of law and are only advisory in nature.
| 15 | | (Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 100-460, eff. 1-1-18; | 16 | | 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18.)
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