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90_HB2291
720 ILCS 5/9-1 from Ch. 38, par. 9-1
Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Provides that for one
year from the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997
no execution of a defendant shall take place. Creates a
commission on the death penalty to study the law that
provides for the death penalty and the administration of the
death penalty. Provides that the commission shall report to
the General Assembly within 8 months from the effective date
of this amendatory Act. Effective immediately.
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1 AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code of 1961 by changing
2 Section 9-1.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by
6 changing Section 9-1 as follows:
7 (720 ILCS 5/9-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 9-1)
8 Sec. 9-1. First degree Murder - Death penalties -
9 Exceptions - Separate Hearings - Proof - Findings - Appellate
10 procedures - Reversals.
11 (a) A person who kills an individual without lawful
12 justification commits first degree murder if, in performing
13 the acts which cause the death:
14 (1) he either intends to kill or do great bodily
15 harm to that individual or another, or knows that such
16 acts will cause death to that individual or another; or
17 (2) he knows that such acts create a strong
18 probability of death or great bodily harm to that
19 individual or another; or
20 (3) he is attempting or committing a forcible
21 felony other than second degree murder.
22 (b) Aggravating Factors. A defendant who at the time of
23 the commission of the offense has attained the age of 18 or
24 more and who has been found guilty of first degree murder may
25 be sentenced to death if:
26 (1) the murdered individual was a peace officer or
27 fireman killed in the course of performing his official
28 duties, to prevent the performance of his official
29 duties, or in retaliation for performing his official
30 duties, and the defendant knew or should have known that
31 the murdered individual was a peace officer or fireman;
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1 or
2 (2) the murdered individual was an employee of an
3 institution or facility of the Department of Corrections,
4 or any similar local correctional agency, killed in the
5 course of performing his official duties, to prevent the
6 performance of his official duties, or in retaliation for
7 performing his official duties, or the murdered
8 individual was an inmate at such institution or facility
9 and was killed on the grounds thereof, or the murdered
10 individual was otherwise present in such institution or
11 facility with the knowledge and approval of the chief
12 administrative officer thereof; or
13 (3) the defendant has been convicted of murdering
14 two or more individuals under subsection (a) of this
15 Section or under any law of the United States or of any
16 state which is substantially similar to subsection (a) of
17 this Section regardless of whether the deaths occurred
18 as the result of the same act or of several related or
19 unrelated acts so long as the deaths were the result of
20 either an intent to kill more than one person or of
21 separate acts which the defendant knew would cause death
22 or create a strong probability of death or great bodily
23 harm to the murdered individual or another; or
24 (4) the murdered individual was killed as a result
25 of the hijacking of an airplane, train, ship, bus or
26 other public conveyance; or
27 (5) the defendant committed the murder pursuant to
28 a contract, agreement or understanding by which he was to
29 receive money or anything of value in return for
30 committing the murder or procured another to commit the
31 murder for money or anything of value; or
32 (6) the murdered individual was killed in the
33 course of another felony if:
34 (a) the murdered individual:
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1 (i) was actually killed by the defendant,
2 or
3 (ii) received physical injuries
4 personally inflicted by the defendant
5 substantially contemporaneously with physical
6 injuries caused by one or more persons for
7 whose conduct the defendant is legally
8 accountable under Section 5-2 of this Code, and
9 the physical injuries inflicted by either the
10 defendant or the other person or persons for
11 whose conduct he is legally accountable caused
12 the death of the murdered individual; and
13 (b) in performing the acts which caused the
14 death of the murdered individual or which resulted
15 in physical injuries personally inflicted by the
16 defendant on the murdered individual under the
17 circumstances of subdivision (ii) of subparagraph
18 (a) of paragraph (6) of subsection (b) of this
19 Section, the defendant acted with the intent to kill
20 the murdered individual or with the knowledge that
21 his acts created a strong probability of death or
22 great bodily harm to the murdered individual or
23 another; and
24 (c) the other felony was one of the following:
25 armed robbery, armed violence, robbery, predatory
26 criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated
27 criminal sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping,
28 aggravated vehicular hijacking, forcible detention,
29 arson, aggravated arson, aggravated stalking,
30 burglary, residential burglary, home invasion,
31 calculated criminal drug conspiracy as defined in
32 Section 405 of the Illinois Controlled Substances
33 Act, streetgang criminal drug conspiracy as defined
34 in Section 405.2 of the Illinois Controlled
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1 Substances Act, or the attempt to commit any of the
2 felonies listed in this subsection (c); or
3 (7) the murdered individual was under 12 years of
4 age and the death resulted from exceptionally brutal or
5 heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty; or
6 (8) the defendant committed the murder with intent
7 to prevent the murdered individual from testifying in any
8 criminal prosecution or giving material assistance to the
9 State in any investigation or prosecution, either against
10 the defendant or another; or the defendant committed the
11 murder because the murdered individual was a witness in
12 any prosecution or gave material assistance to the State
13 in any investigation or prosecution, either against the
14 defendant or another; or
15 (9) the defendant, while committing an offense
16 punishable under Sections 401, 401.1, 401.2, 405, 405.2,
17 407 or 407.1 or subsection (b) of Section 404 of the
18 Illinois Controlled Substances Act, or while engaged in a
19 conspiracy or solicitation to commit such offense,
20 intentionally killed an individual or counseled,
21 commanded, induced, procured or caused the intentional
22 killing of the murdered individual; or
23 (10) the defendant was incarcerated in an
24 institution or facility of the Department of Corrections
25 at the time of the murder, and while committing an
26 offense punishable as a felony under Illinois law, or
27 while engaged in a conspiracy or solicitation to commit
28 such offense, intentionally killed an individual or
29 counseled, commanded, induced, procured or caused the
30 intentional killing of the murdered individual; or
31 (11) the murder was committed in a cold, calculated
32 and premeditated manner pursuant to a preconceived plan,
33 scheme or design to take a human life by unlawful means,
34 and the conduct of the defendant created a reasonable
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1 expectation that the death of a human being would result
2 therefrom; or
3 (12) the murdered individual was an emergency
4 medical technician - ambulance, emergency medical
5 technician - intermediate, emergency medical technician -
6 paramedic, ambulance driver, or other medical assistance
7 or first aid personnel, employed by a municipality or
8 other governmental unit, killed in the course of
9 performing his official duties, to prevent the
10 performance of his official duties, or in retaliation for
11 performing his official duties, and the defendant knew or
12 should have known that the murdered individual was an
13 emergency medical technician - ambulance, emergency
14 medical technician - intermediate, emergency medical
15 technician - paramedic, ambulance driver, or other
16 medical assistance or first aid personnel; or
17 (13) the defendant was a principal administrator,
18 organizer, or leader of a calculated criminal drug
19 conspiracy consisting of a hierarchical position of
20 authority superior to that of all other members of the
21 conspiracy, and the defendant counseled, commanded,
22 induced, procured, or caused the intentional killing of
23 the murdered person; or
24 (14) the murder was intentional and involved the
25 infliction of torture. For the purpose of this Section
26 torture means the infliction of or subjection to extreme
27 physical pain, motivated by an intent to increase or
28 prolong the pain, suffering or agony of the victim; or
29 (15) the murder was committed as a result of the
30 intentional discharge of a firearm by the defendant from
31 a motor vehicle and the victim was not present within the
32 motor vehicle.
33 (c) Consideration of factors in Aggravation and
34 Mitigation.
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1 The court shall consider, or shall instruct the jury to
2 consider any aggravating and any mitigating factors which are
3 relevant to the imposition of the death penalty. Aggravating
4 factors may include but need not be limited to those factors
5 set forth in subsection (b). Mitigating factors may include
6 but need not be limited to the following:
7 (1) the defendant has no significant history of
8 prior criminal activity;
9 (2) the murder was committed while the defendant
10 was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional
11 disturbance, although not such as to constitute a defense
12 to prosecution;
13 (3) the murdered individual was a participant in
14 the defendant's homicidal conduct or consented to the
15 homicidal act;
16 (4) the defendant acted under the compulsion of
17 threat or menace of the imminent infliction of death or
18 great bodily harm;
19 (5) the defendant was not personally present during
20 commission of the act or acts causing death.
21 (d) Separate sentencing hearing.
22 Where requested by the State, the court shall conduct a
23 separate sentencing proceeding to determine the existence of
24 factors set forth in subsection (b) and to consider any
25 aggravating or mitigating factors as indicated in subsection
26 (c). The proceeding shall be conducted:
27 (1) before the jury that determined the defendant's
28 guilt; or
29 (2) before a jury impanelled for the purpose of the
30 proceeding if:
31 A. the defendant was convicted upon a plea of
32 guilty; or
33 B. the defendant was convicted after a trial
34 before the court sitting without a jury; or
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1 C. the court for good cause shown discharges
2 the jury that determined the defendant's guilt; or
3 (3) before the court alone if the defendant waives
4 a jury for the separate proceeding.
5 (e) Evidence and Argument.
6 During the proceeding any information relevant to any of
7 the factors set forth in subsection (b) may be presented by
8 either the State or the defendant under the rules governing
9 the admission of evidence at criminal trials. Any
10 information relevant to any additional aggravating factors or
11 any mitigating factors indicated in subsection (c) may be
12 presented by the State or defendant regardless of its
13 admissibility under the rules governing the admission of
14 evidence at criminal trials. The State and the defendant
15 shall be given fair opportunity to rebut any information
16 received at the hearing.
17 (f) Proof.
18 The burden of proof of establishing the existence of any
19 of the factors set forth in subsection (b) is on the State
20 and shall not be satisfied unless established beyond a
21 reasonable doubt.
22 (g) Procedure - Jury.
23 If at the separate sentencing proceeding the jury finds
24 that none of the factors set forth in subsection (b) exists,
25 the court shall sentence the defendant to a term of
26 imprisonment under Chapter V of the Unified Code of
27 Corrections. If there is a unanimous finding by the jury
28 that one or more of the factors set forth in subsection (b)
29 exist, the jury shall consider aggravating and mitigating
30 factors as instructed by the court and shall determine
31 whether the sentence of death shall be imposed. If the jury
32 determines unanimously that there are no mitigating factors
33 sufficient to preclude the imposition of the death sentence,
34 the court shall sentence the defendant to death.
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1 Unless the jury unanimously finds that there are no
2 mitigating factors sufficient to preclude the imposition of
3 the death sentence the court shall sentence the defendant to
4 a term of imprisonment under Chapter V of the Unified Code of
5 Corrections.
6 (h) Procedure - No Jury.
7 In a proceeding before the court alone, if the court
8 finds that none of the factors found in subsection (b)
9 exists, the court shall sentence the defendant to a term of
10 imprisonment under Chapter V of the Unified Code of
11 Corrections.
12 If the Court determines that one or more of the factors
13 set forth in subsection (b) exists, the Court shall consider
14 any aggravating and mitigating factors as indicated in
15 subsection (c). If the Court determines that there are no
16 mitigating factors sufficient to preclude the imposition of
17 the death sentence, the Court shall sentence the defendant to
18 death.
19 Unless the court finds that there are no mitigating
20 factors sufficient to preclude the imposition of the sentence
21 of death, the court shall sentence the defendant to a term of
22 imprisonment under Chapter V of the Unified Code of
23 Corrections.
24 (i) Appellate Procedure.
25 The conviction and sentence of death shall be subject to
26 automatic review by the Supreme Court. Such review shall be
27 in accordance with rules promulgated by the Supreme Court.
28 (j) Disposition of reversed death sentence.
29 In the event that the death penalty in this Act is held
30 to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United
31 States or of the State of Illinois, any person convicted of
32 first degree murder shall be sentenced by the court to a term
33 of imprisonment under Chapter V of the Unified Code of
34 Corrections.
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1 In the event that any death sentence pursuant to the
2 sentencing provisions of this Section is declared
3 unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States or
4 of the State of Illinois, the court having jurisdiction over
5 a person previously sentenced to death shall cause the
6 defendant to be brought before the court, and the court shall
7 sentence the defendant to a term of imprisonment under
8 Chapter V of the Unified Code of Corrections.
9 (k) Temporary suspension of death penalty.
10 No execution of a defendant shall take place for one year
11 from the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997. A
12 commission on the death penalty is created to study the law
13 that provides for the death penalty and the administration of
14 the death penalty. The commission shall make recommendations
15 for amendments to the death penalty law to provide assurances
16 that defendants who are sentenced to death are in fact guilty
17 of first degree murder. The commission shall report to the
18 General Assembly within 8 months from the effective date of
19 this amendatory Act of 1997.
20 The commission shall consist of 8 members as follows: 2
21 members shall be appointed by the Governor, 2 members shall
22 be appointed by the Supreme Court, one member shall be
23 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one
24 member shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the House
25 of Representatives, one member shall be appointed by the
26 President of the Senate, and one member shall be appointed by
27 the Minority Leader of the Senate.
28 (Source: P.A. 88-176; 88-433; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 88-677,
29 eff. 12-15-94; 88-678, eff. 7-1-95; 89-235, eff. 8-4-95;
30 89-428, eff. 12-13-95; 89-462, eff. 5-29-96; 89-498, eff.
31 6-27-96.)
32 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
33 becoming law.