Full Text of HB5631 101st General Assembly
HB5631 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020 HB5631 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. Provides that the offense of first degree murder for killing an individual without lawful justification during the attempted commission or commission of a forcible felony only applies when the death is caused by a person engaged as a principal or an accessory in the attempted commission or commission of the forcible felony.
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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) he or she either intends to kill or do great bodily | 14 | | harm to that
individual or another, or knows that such acts | 15 | | will cause death to that
individual or another; or
| 16 | | (2) he or she knows that such acts create a strong | 17 | | probability of death or
great bodily harm to that | 18 | | individual or another; or
| 19 | | (3) he or she is attempting or committing a forcible | 20 | | felony other than
second degree murder , and the death is | 21 | | caused by a person engaged as a principal or an accessory | 22 | | in the attempted commission or commission of that felony .
| 23 | | (b) Aggravating Factors. A defendant who at the time of the
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| 1 | | commission of the offense has attained the age of 18 or more | 2 | | and who has
been found guilty of first degree murder may be | 3 | | sentenced to death if:
| 4 | | (1) the murdered individual was a peace officer or | 5 | | fireman killed in
the course of performing his official | 6 | | duties, to prevent the performance
of his or her official | 7 | | duties, or in retaliation for performing his or her | 8 | | official
duties, and the defendant knew or
should have | 9 | | known that the murdered individual was a peace officer or
| 10 | | fireman; or
| 11 | | (2) the murdered individual was an employee of an | 12 | | institution or
facility of the Department of Corrections, | 13 | | or any similar local
correctional agency, killed in the | 14 | | course of performing his or her official
duties, to prevent | 15 | | the performance of his or her official duties, or in
| 16 | | retaliation for performing his or her official duties, or | 17 | | the murdered
individual was an inmate at such institution | 18 | | or facility and was killed on the
grounds thereof, or the | 19 | | murdered individual was otherwise present in such
| 20 | | institution or facility with the knowledge and approval of | 21 | | the chief
administrative officer thereof; or
| 22 | | (3) the defendant has been convicted of murdering two | 23 | | or more
individuals under subsection (a) of this Section or | 24 | | under any law of the
United States or of any state which is | 25 | | substantially similar to
subsection (a) of this Section | 26 | | regardless of whether the deaths
occurred as the result of |
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| 1 | | the same act or of several related or
unrelated acts so | 2 | | long as the deaths were the result of either an intent
to | 3 | | kill more than one person or of separate acts which
the | 4 | | defendant knew would cause death or create a strong | 5 | | probability of
death or great bodily harm to the murdered | 6 | | individual or another; or
| 7 | | (4) the murdered individual was killed as a result of | 8 | | the
hijacking of an airplane, train, ship, bus, or other | 9 | | public conveyance; or
| 10 | | (5) the defendant committed the murder pursuant to a | 11 | | contract,
agreement, or understanding by which he or she | 12 | | was to receive money or anything
of value in return for | 13 | | committing the murder or procured another to
commit the | 14 | | murder for money or anything of value; or
| 15 | | (6) the murdered individual was killed in the course of | 16 | | another felony if:
| 17 | | (a) the murdered individual:
| 18 | | (i) was actually killed by the defendant, or
| 19 | | (ii) received physical injuries personally | 20 | | inflicted by the defendant
substantially | 21 | | contemporaneously with physical injuries caused by | 22 | | one or
more persons for whose conduct the defendant | 23 | | is legally accountable under
Section 5-2 of this | 24 | | Code, and the physical injuries inflicted by | 25 | | either
the defendant or the other person or persons | 26 | | for whose conduct he is legally
accountable caused |
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| 1 | | the death of the murdered individual; and
| 2 | | (b) in performing the acts which caused the death | 3 | | of the murdered
individual or which resulted in | 4 | | physical injuries personally inflicted by
the | 5 | | defendant on the murdered individual under the | 6 | | circumstances of
subdivision (ii) of subparagraph (a) | 7 | | of paragraph (6) of subsection (b) of
this Section, the | 8 | | defendant acted with the intent to kill the murdered
| 9 | | individual or with the knowledge that his acts created | 10 | | a strong probability
of death or great bodily harm to | 11 | | the murdered individual or another; and
| 12 | | (c) the other felony was an inherently violent | 13 | | crime
or the attempt to commit an inherently
violent | 14 | | crime.
In this subparagraph (c), "inherently violent | 15 | | crime" includes, but is not
limited to, armed robbery, | 16 | | robbery, predatory criminal sexual assault of a
child,
| 17 | | aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated | 18 | | kidnapping, aggravated vehicular
hijacking,
aggravated | 19 | | arson, aggravated stalking, residential burglary, and | 20 | | home
invasion; or
| 21 | | (7) the murdered individual was under 12 years of age | 22 | | and the
death resulted from exceptionally brutal or heinous | 23 | | behavior indicative of
wanton cruelty; or
| 24 | | (8) the defendant committed the murder with intent to
| 25 | | prevent the murdered individual from testifying or | 26 | | participating in any
criminal investigation or prosecution
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| 1 | | or giving material assistance to the State in any | 2 | | investigation or
prosecution, either against the defendant | 3 | | or another; or the defendant
committed the murder because | 4 | | the murdered individual was a witness in any
prosecution or | 5 | | gave material assistance to the State in any investigation
| 6 | | or prosecution, either against the defendant or another;
| 7 | | for purposes of this paragraph (8), "participating in any | 8 | | criminal
investigation
or prosecution" is intended to | 9 | | include those appearing in the proceedings in
any capacity | 10 | | such as trial judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys,
| 11 | | investigators, witnesses, or jurors; or
| 12 | | (9) the defendant, while committing an offense | 13 | | punishable under
Sections 401, 401.1, 401.2, 405, 405.2, | 14 | | 407 or 407.1 or subsection (b) of
Section
404 of the | 15 | | Illinois Controlled Substances Act, or while engaged in a
| 16 | | conspiracy or solicitation to commit such offense, | 17 | | intentionally killed an
individual or counseled, | 18 | | commanded, induced, procured or caused the
intentional | 19 | | killing of the murdered individual; or
| 20 | | (10) the defendant was incarcerated in an institution | 21 | | or facility of
the Department of Corrections at the time of | 22 | | the murder, and while
committing an offense punishable as a | 23 | | felony under Illinois law, or while
engaged in a conspiracy | 24 | | or solicitation to commit such offense,
intentionally | 25 | | killed an individual or counseled, commanded, induced,
| 26 | | procured or caused the intentional killing of the murdered |
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| 1 | | individual; or
| 2 | | (11) the murder was committed in a cold, calculated and | 3 | | premeditated
manner pursuant to a preconceived plan, | 4 | | scheme or design to take a human
life by unlawful means, | 5 | | and the conduct of the defendant created a
reasonable | 6 | | expectation that the death of a human being would result
| 7 | | therefrom; or
| 8 | | (12) the murdered individual was an emergency medical | 9 | | technician -
ambulance, emergency medical technician - | 10 | | intermediate, emergency medical
technician - paramedic, | 11 | | ambulance driver, or
other medical assistance or first aid | 12 | | personnel, employed by a municipality
or other | 13 | | governmental unit, killed in the course of performing his | 14 | | official
duties, to prevent the performance of his official | 15 | | duties, or in retaliation
for performing his official | 16 | | duties, and the defendant knew or should have
known that | 17 | | 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; or
| 22 | | (13) the defendant was a principal administrator, | 23 | | organizer, or leader
of a calculated criminal drug | 24 | | conspiracy consisting of a hierarchical position
of | 25 | | authority superior to that of all other members of the | 26 | | conspiracy, and the
defendant counseled, commanded, |
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| 1 | | induced, procured, or caused the intentional
killing of the | 2 | | murdered person;
or
| 3 | | (14) the murder was intentional and involved the | 4 | | infliction of torture.
For
the purpose of this Section | 5 | | torture means the infliction of or subjection to
extreme | 6 | | physical pain, motivated by an intent to increase or | 7 | | prolong the pain,
suffering or agony of the victim; or
| 8 | | (15) the murder was committed as a result of the | 9 | | intentional discharge
of a firearm by the defendant from a | 10 | | motor vehicle and the victim was not
present within the | 11 | | motor vehicle; or
| 12 | | (16) the murdered individual was 60 years of age or | 13 | | older and the death
resulted
from exceptionally brutal or | 14 | | heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty; or
| 15 | | (17) the murdered individual was a person with a | 16 | | disability and the defendant knew
or
should have known that | 17 | | the murdered individual was a person with a disability. For | 18 | | purposes of
this paragraph (17), "person with a disability" | 19 | | means a person who suffers from a
permanent physical or | 20 | | mental impairment resulting from disease, an injury,
a | 21 | | functional disorder, or a congenital condition that | 22 | | renders the person
incapable of
adequately providing for | 23 | | his or her own health or personal care; or
| 24 | | (18) the murder was committed by reason of any person's | 25 | | activity as a
community policing volunteer or to prevent | 26 | | any person from engaging in activity
as a community |
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| 1 | | policing volunteer; or
| 2 | | (19) the murdered individual was subject to an order of | 3 | | protection and the
murder was committed by a person against | 4 | | whom the same order of protection was
issued under the | 5 | | Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986; or
| 6 | | (20) the murdered individual was known by the defendant | 7 | | to be a teacher or
other person employed in any school and | 8 | | the teacher or other employee is upon
the grounds of a | 9 | | school or grounds adjacent to a school, or is in any part | 10 | | of a
building used for school purposes; or
| 11 | | (21) the murder was committed by the defendant in | 12 | | connection with or as
a
result of the offense of terrorism | 13 | | as defined in Section 29D-14.9 of this
Code; or
| 14 | | (22) the murdered individual was a member of a | 15 | | congregation engaged in prayer or other religious | 16 | | activities at a church, synagogue, mosque, or other | 17 | | building, structure, or place used for religious worship. | 18 | | (b-5) Aggravating Factor; Natural Life Imprisonment. A | 19 | | defendant who has been found guilty of first degree murder and | 20 | | who at the time of the commission of the offense had attained | 21 | | the age of 18 years or more may be sentenced to natural life | 22 | | imprisonment if
(i) the murdered individual was a physician, | 23 | | physician assistant, psychologist, nurse, or advanced practice | 24 | | registered nurse, (ii) the defendant knew or should have
known | 25 | | that the murdered individual was a physician, physician | 26 | | assistant, psychologist, nurse, or advanced practice |
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| 1 | | registered nurse, and (iii) the murdered individual was killed | 2 | | in the course of acting in his or her capacity as a physician, | 3 | | physician assistant, psychologist, nurse, or advanced practice | 4 | | registered nurse, or to prevent him or her from acting in that | 5 | | capacity, or in retaliation
for his or her acting in that | 6 | | capacity. | 7 | | (c) Consideration of factors in Aggravation and | 8 | | Mitigation.
| 9 | | The court shall consider, or shall instruct the jury to | 10 | | consider any
aggravating and any mitigating factors which are | 11 | | relevant to the
imposition of the death penalty. Aggravating | 12 | | factors may include but
need not be limited to those factors | 13 | | set forth in subsection (b).
Mitigating factors may include but | 14 | | need not be limited to the following:
| 15 | | (1) the defendant has no significant history of prior | 16 | | criminal
activity;
| 17 | | (2) the murder was committed while the defendant was | 18 | | under
the influence of extreme mental or emotional | 19 | | disturbance, although not such
as to constitute a defense | 20 | | to prosecution;
| 21 | | (3) the murdered individual was a participant in the
| 22 | | defendant's homicidal conduct or consented to the | 23 | | homicidal act;
| 24 | | (4) the defendant acted under the compulsion of threat | 25 | | or
menace of the imminent infliction of death or great | 26 | | bodily harm;
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| 1 | | (5) the defendant was not personally present during
| 2 | | commission of the act or acts causing death;
| 3 | | (6) the defendant's background includes a history of | 4 | | extreme emotional
or physical abuse;
| 5 | | (7) the defendant suffers from a reduced mental | 6 | | capacity.
| 7 | | Provided, however, that an action that does not otherwise | 8 | | mitigate first degree murder cannot qualify as a mitigating | 9 | | factor for first degree murder because of the discovery, | 10 | | knowledge, or disclosure of the victim's sexual orientation as | 11 | | defined in Section 1-103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act. | 12 | | (d) Separate sentencing hearing.
| 13 | | Where requested by the State, the court shall conduct a | 14 | | separate
sentencing proceeding to determine the existence of | 15 | | factors set forth in
subsection (b) and to consider any | 16 | | aggravating or mitigating factors as
indicated in subsection | 17 | | (c). The proceeding shall be conducted:
| 18 | | (1) before the jury that determined the defendant's | 19 | | guilt; or
| 20 | | (2) before a jury impanelled for the purpose of the | 21 | | proceeding if:
| 22 | | A. the defendant was convicted upon a plea of | 23 | | guilty; or
| 24 | | B. the defendant was convicted after a trial before | 25 | | the court
sitting without a jury; or
| 26 | | C. the court for good cause shown discharges the |
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| 1 | | jury that
determined the defendant's guilt; or
| 2 | | (3) before the court alone if the defendant waives a | 3 | | jury
for the separate proceeding.
| 4 | | (e) Evidence and Argument.
| 5 | | During the proceeding any information relevant to any of | 6 | | the factors
set forth in subsection (b) may be presented by | 7 | | either the State or the
defendant under the rules governing the | 8 | | admission of evidence at
criminal trials. Any information | 9 | | relevant to any additional aggravating
factors or any | 10 | | mitigating factors indicated in subsection (c) may be
presented | 11 | | by the State or defendant regardless of its admissibility
under | 12 | | the rules governing the admission of evidence at criminal | 13 | | trials.
The State and the defendant shall be given fair | 14 | | opportunity to rebut any
information received at the hearing.
| 15 | | (f) Proof.
| 16 | | The burden of proof of establishing the existence of any of | 17 | | the
factors set forth in subsection (b) is on the State and | 18 | | shall not be
satisfied unless established beyond a reasonable | 19 | | doubt.
| 20 | | (g) Procedure - Jury.
| 21 | | If at the separate sentencing proceeding the jury finds | 22 | | that none of
the factors set forth in subsection (b) exists, | 23 | | the court shall sentence
the defendant to a term of | 24 | | imprisonment under Chapter V of the Unified
Code of | 25 | | Corrections. If there is a unanimous finding by the jury that
| 26 | | one or more of the factors set forth in subsection (b) exist, |
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| 1 | | the jury
shall consider aggravating and mitigating factors as | 2 | | instructed by the
court and shall determine whether the | 3 | | sentence of death shall be
imposed. If the jury determines | 4 | | unanimously, after weighing the factors in
aggravation and | 5 | | mitigation, that death is the appropriate sentence, the court | 6 | | shall sentence the defendant to death.
If the court does not | 7 | | concur with the jury determination that death is the
| 8 | | appropriate sentence, the court shall set forth reasons in | 9 | | writing
including what facts or circumstances the court relied | 10 | | upon,
along with any relevant
documents, that compelled the | 11 | | court to non-concur with the sentence. This
document and any | 12 | | attachments shall be part of the record for appellate
review. | 13 | | The court shall be bound by the jury's sentencing | 14 | | determination.
| 15 | | If after weighing the factors in aggravation and | 16 | | mitigation, one or more
jurors determines that death is not the | 17 | | appropriate sentence,
the
court shall sentence the defendant to | 18 | | a term of imprisonment under
Chapter V of the Unified Code of | 19 | | Corrections.
| 20 | | (h) Procedure - No Jury.
| 21 | | In a proceeding before the court alone, if the court finds | 22 | | that none
of the factors found in subsection (b) exists, the | 23 | | court shall sentence
the defendant to a term of imprisonment | 24 | | under Chapter V of the Unified
Code of Corrections.
| 25 | | If the Court determines that one or more of the factors set | 26 | | forth in
subsection (b) exists, the Court shall consider any |
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| 1 | | aggravating and
mitigating factors as indicated in subsection | 2 | | (c). If the Court
determines, after weighing the factors in | 3 | | aggravation and mitigation, that
death is the appropriate | 4 | | sentence, the Court shall sentence the
defendant to death.
| 5 | | If
the court finds that death is not the
appropriate | 6 | | sentence, the
court shall sentence the defendant to a term of | 7 | | imprisonment under
Chapter V of the Unified Code of | 8 | | Corrections.
| 9 | | (h-5) Decertification as a capital case.
| 10 | | In a case in which the defendant has been found guilty of | 11 | | first degree murder
by a judge or jury, or a case on remand for | 12 | | resentencing, and the State seeks
the death penalty as an | 13 | | appropriate
sentence,
on the court's own motion or the written | 14 | | motion of the defendant, the court
may decertify the case as a | 15 | | death penalty case if the court finds that the only
evidence | 16 | | supporting the defendant's conviction is the uncorroborated | 17 | | testimony
of an informant witness, as defined in Section 115-21 | 18 | | of the Code of Criminal
Procedure of 1963, concerning the | 19 | | confession or admission of the defendant or
that the sole | 20 | | evidence against the defendant is a single eyewitness or single
| 21 | | accomplice without any other corroborating evidence.
If the | 22 | | court decertifies the case as a capital case
under either of | 23 | | the grounds set forth above, the court shall issue a
written | 24 | | finding. The State may pursue its right to appeal the | 25 | | decertification
pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 604(a)(1). If | 26 | | the court does not
decertify the case as a capital case, the |
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| 1 | | matter shall proceed to the
eligibility phase of the sentencing | 2 | | hearing.
| 3 | | (i) Appellate Procedure.
| 4 | | The conviction and sentence of death shall be subject to | 5 | | automatic
review by the Supreme Court. Such review shall be in | 6 | | accordance with
rules promulgated by the Supreme Court.
The | 7 | | Illinois Supreme Court may overturn the death sentence, and | 8 | | order the
imposition of imprisonment under Chapter V of the | 9 | | Unified Code of
Corrections if the court finds that the death | 10 | | sentence is fundamentally
unjust as applied to the particular | 11 | | case.
If the Illinois Supreme Court finds that the
death | 12 | | sentence is fundamentally unjust as applied to the particular | 13 | | case,
independent of any procedural grounds for relief, the | 14 | | Illinois Supreme Court
shall issue a written opinion explaining | 15 | | this finding.
| 16 | | (j) Disposition of reversed death sentence.
| 17 | | In the event that the death penalty in this Act is held to | 18 | | be
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States | 19 | | or of the
State of Illinois, any person convicted of first | 20 | | degree murder shall be
sentenced by the court to a term of | 21 | | imprisonment under Chapter V of the
Unified Code of | 22 | | Corrections.
| 23 | | In the event that any death sentence pursuant to the | 24 | | sentencing
provisions of this Section is declared | 25 | | unconstitutional by the Supreme
Court of the United States or | 26 | | of the State of Illinois, the court having
jurisdiction over a |
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| 1 | | person previously sentenced to death shall cause the
defendant | 2 | | to be brought before the court, and the court shall sentence
| 3 | | the defendant to a term of imprisonment under Chapter V of the
| 4 | | Unified Code of Corrections.
| 5 | | (k) Guidelines for seeking the death penalty.
| 6 | | The Attorney General and
State's Attorneys Association | 7 | | shall consult on voluntary guidelines for
procedures governing | 8 | | whether or not to seek the death penalty. The guidelines
do not
| 9 | | have the force of law and are only advisory in nature.
| 10 | | (Source: P.A. 100-460, eff. 1-1-18; 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; | 11 | | 100-863, eff. 8-14-18; 101-223, eff. 1-1-20 .)
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