South Carolina General Assembly
112th Session, 1997-1998

Bill 4565


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                       4565
Type of Legislation:               General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                  House
Introduced Date:                   19980204
Primary Sponsor:                   Easterday
All Sponsors:                      Easterday, Campsen, Rice, Koon,
                                   Meacham, Sandifer, Hinson, Mason,
                                   Rodgers, Cooper, Stuart, Beck,
                                   Barrett, Fleming, Leach, Simrill,
                                   Haskins, Robinson, Hamilton,
                                   Woodrum, Vaughn, R. Smith, Trotter,
                                   Davenport, Quinn, Harrell, Stille,
                                   Young, Kirsh, Harrison, McMaster,
                                   Limehouse and McGee 
Drafted Document Number:           kgh\15370cm.98
Residing Body:                     House
Current Committee:                 Judiciary Committee 25 HJ
Subject:                           Death penalty, murder;
                                   sentencing judge to impose sentence,
                                   Crimes and Offenses, Execution,
                                   Juries and Jurors



History


Body    Date      Action Description                       Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  _______________________________________  _______ ____________

House   19980204  Introduced, read first time,             25 HJ
                  referred to Committee

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 16-3-20, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PUNISHMENT FOR MURDER AND THE SEPARATE SENTENCING PROCEEDING TO DETERMINE WHETHER A PERSON CONVICTED OF MURDER MUST BE SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT, A MANDATORY MINIMUM TERM OF IMPRISONMENT FOR THIRTY YEARS, OR DEATH, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A SENTENCING JUDGE HAS DISCRETION TO IMPOSE EITHER OF THESE SENTENCES DESPITE THE SENTENCING JURY'S RECOMMENDATION EXCEPT WHEN THE SENTENCING JURY FINDS AN AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCE AND RECOMMENDS DEATH.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 16-3-20 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 317 of 1996, is further amended to read:

"Section 16-3-20. (A) A person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to murder must be punished by death, by imprisonment for life, or by a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for thirty years. If the State seeks the death penalty and a statutory aggravating circumstance is found beyond a reasonable doubt pursuant to subsections (B) and (C), and a recommendation of death is not made, the trial judge must impose a sentence of either life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of thirty years, or death. For purposes of this section, 'life imprisonment' means until death of the offender. No A person sentenced to life imprisonment pursuant to this section is not eligible for parole, community supervision, or any early release program, nor is the person eligible to receive any work credits, education credits, good conduct credits, or any other credits that would reduce the mandatory life imprisonment required by this section. No A person sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for thirty years pursuant to this section is not eligible for parole or any early release program, nor is the person eligible to receive any work credits, education credits, good conduct credits, or any other credits that would reduce the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for thirty years required by this section. Under no circumstances may a female who is pregnant be executed so long as she is pregnant or for a period of at least nine months after she is no longer pregnant. When the Governor commutes a sentence of death to life imprisonment under the provisions of Section 14 of Article IV of the Constitution of South Carolina, 1895, the commutee is not eligible for parole, community supervision, or any early release program, nor is the person eligible to receive any work credits, good conduct credits, education credits, or any other credits that would reduce the mandatory imprisonment required by this subsection.

(B) When the State seeks the death penalty, upon conviction or adjudication of guilt of a defendant of murder, the court shall conduct a separate sentencing proceeding. In the proceeding, if a statutory aggravating circumstance is found, the defendant must be sentenced to either death, or life imprisonment, or a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for thirty years. If no statutory aggravating circumstance is found, the defendant must be sentenced to either death, life imprisonment, or a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for thirty years. The proceeding must be conducted by the trial judge before the trial jury as soon as practicable after the lapse of twenty-four hours unless waived by the defendant. If trial by jury has been waived by the defendant and the State, or if the defendant pleaded guilty, the sentencing proceeding must be conducted before the judge. In the sentencing proceeding, the jury or judge shall hear additional evidence in extenuation, mitigation, or aggravation of the punishment. Only such evidence in aggravation as the State has informed the defendant in writing before the trial is admissible. This section must not be construed to authorize the introduction of any evidence secured in violation of the Constitution of the United States or the State of South Carolina or the applicable laws of either. The State, the defendant, and his counsel are permitted to present arguments for or against the sentence to be imposed. The defendant and his counsel shall have the closing argument regarding the sentence to be imposed.

(C) The judge shall consider, or he shall include in his instructions to the jury for it to consider, mitigating circumstances otherwise authorized or allowed by law and the following statutory aggravating and mitigating circumstances which may be supported by the evidence:

(a) Statutory aggravating circumstances:

(1) The murder was committed while in the commission of the following crimes or acts:

(a) criminal sexual conduct in any degree;

(b) kidnapping;

(c) burglary in any degree;

(d) robbery while armed with a deadly weapon;

(e) larceny with use of a deadly weapon;

(f) killing by poison;

(g) drug trafficking as defined in Section 44-53-370(e), 44-53-375(B), 44-53-440, or 44-53-445;

(h) physical torture; or

(i) dismemberment of a person.

(2) The murder was committed by a person with a prior conviction for murder.

(3) The offender by his act of murder knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person in a public place by means of a weapon or device which normally would be hazardous to the lives of more than one person.

(4) The offender committed the murder for himself or another for the purpose of receiving money or a thing of monetary value.

(5) The murder of a judicial officer, former judicial officer, solicitor, former solicitor, or other officer of the court during or because of the exercise of his official duty.

(6) The offender caused or directed another to commit murder or committed murder as an agent or employee of another person.

(7) The murder of a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer, peace officer or former peace officer, corrections employee or former corrections employee, or fireman or former fireman during or because of the performance of his official duties.

(8) The murder of a family member of an official listed in subitems (5) and (7) above with the intent to impede or retaliate against the official. 'Family member' means a spouse, parent, brother, sister, child, or person to whom the official stands in the place of a parent or a person living in the official's household and related to him by blood or marriage.

(9) Two or more persons were murdered by the defendant by one act or pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct.

(10) The murder of a child eleven years of age or under.

(11) The murder of a witness or potential witness committed at any time during the criminal process for the purpose of impeding or deterring prosecution of any crime.

(b) Mitigating circumstances:

(1) The defendant has no significant history of prior criminal conviction involving the use of violence against another person.

(2) The murder was committed while the defendant was under the influence of mental or emotional disturbance.

(3) The victim was a participant in the defendant's conduct or consented to the act.

(4) The defendant was an accomplice in the murder committed by another person and his participation was relatively minor.

(5) The defendant acted under duress or under the domination of another person.

(6) The capacity of the defendant to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired.

(7) The age or mentality of the defendant at the time of the crime.

(8) The defendant was provoked by the victim into committing the murder.

(9) The defendant was below the age of eighteen at the time of the crime.

(10) The defendant had mental retardation at the time of the crime. 'Mental retardation' means significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period.

The statutory instructions as to statutory aggravating and mitigating circumstances must be given in charge and in writing to the jury for its deliberation. The jury, if its verdict is a recommendation of death, shall designate in writing, and signed by all members of the jury, the statutory aggravating circumstance or circumstances which it found beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury, if it does not recommend death, after finding a statutory aggravating circumstance or circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt, shall designate in writing, and signed by all members of the jury, the statutory aggravating circumstance or circumstances it found beyond a reasonable doubt. In nonjury cases the judge shall make the designation of the statutory aggravating circumstance or circumstances. Unless at least one of the statutory aggravating circumstances enumerated in this section is found, the death penalty must not be imposed.

Where a statutory aggravating circumstance is found and a recommendation of death is made, the trial judge shall sentence the defendant to death. The trial judge, before imposing the death penalty, shall find as an affirmative fact that the death penalty was warranted under the evidence of the case and was not a result of prejudice, passion, or any other arbitrary factor. Where a statutory aggravating circumstance is found and a sentence of death is not recommended by the jury, the trial judge shall sentence the defendant to either life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of thirty years, or death as provided in subsection (A). Before dismissing the jury, the trial judge shall question the jury as to whether or not it found a statutory aggravating circumstance or circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. If the jury does not unanimously find any statutory aggravating circumstances or circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt, it shall not make a sentencing recommendation. Where a statutory aggravating circumstance is not found, the trial judge shall sentence the defendant to either life imprisonment, death, or a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for thirty years. No A person sentenced to life imprisonment or a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for thirty years under this section is not eligible for parole or to receive any work credits, good conduct credits, education credits, or any other credits that would reduce the sentence required by this section. If the jury has found a statutory aggravating circumstance or circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury shall designate this finding, in writing, signed by all the members of the jury. The jury shall not recommend the death penalty if the vote for such this penalty is not unanimous as provided. If members of the jury after a reasonable deliberation cannot agree on a recommendation as to whether or not the death sentence should be imposed on a defendant found guilty of murder, the trial judge shall dismiss such jury and shall sentence the defendant to either life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of thirty years, or death as provided in subsection (A).

(D) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 14-7-1020, in cases involving capital punishment a person called as a juror must be examined by the attorney for the defense.

(E) In a criminal action in which a defendant is charged with a crime which may be punishable by death, a person may not be disqualified, excused, or excluded from service as a juror by reason of his beliefs or attitudes against capital punishment unless such beliefs or attitudes would render him unable to return a verdict according to law."

SECTION 2. All proceedings pending and all rights and liabilities existing, acquired, or incurred at the time this act takes effect are saved. The provisions of this act apply prospectively to crimes and offenses committed on or after the effective date of this act.

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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