As Introduced 1
122nd General Assembly 4
Regular Session S. B. No. 193 5
1997-1998 6
SENATORS SUHADOLNIK-WATTS-WHITE-GAETH-SCHAFRATH-CARNES- 8
GARDNER-ZALESKI-SWEENEY 9
11
A B I L L
To amend sections 2903.01 and 2929.04 of the Revised 13
Code to expand aggravated murder to also include 14
purposely causing the death of a law enforcement
officer and to make the "killing of a law 15
enforcement officer" capital punishment 16
aggravating circumstance apply in all cases in
which an aggravated murder is committed against a 17
law enforcement officer.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 19
Section 1. That sections 2903.01 and 2929.04 of the 21
Revised Code be amended to read as follows: 22
Sec. 2903.01. (A) No person shall purposely, and with 31
prior calculation and design, cause the death of another or the 32
unlawful termination of another's pregnancy. 33
(B) No person shall purposely cause the death of another 35
or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy while 37
committing or attempting to commit, or while fleeing immediately 38
after committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, rape, 39
aggravated arson or arson, aggravated robbery or robbery,
aggravated burglary or burglary, or escape. 40
(C) No person shall purposely cause the death of another 42
who is under thirteen years of age at the time of the commission 43
of the offense.
(D) NO PERSON SHALL PURPOSELY CAUSE THE DEATH OF A LAW 45
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 2911.01 OF THE REVISED 46
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CODE.
(E) Whoever violates this section is guilty of aggravated 48
murder, and shall be punished as provided in section 2929.02 of 49
the Revised Code. 50
(E)(F) No person shall be convicted of aggravated murder 52
unless the person is specifically found to have intended to cause 53
the death of another or, if the case involves an alleged 54
violation of division (A) or (B) of this section, the unlawful 55
termination of another's pregnancy. In no case shall a jury in 56
an aggravated murder case be instructed in such a manner that it 57
may believe that a person who commits or attempts to commit any 58
offense listed in division (B) of this section is to be 59
conclusively inferred, because the person engaged in a common 60
design with others to commit the offense by force and violence or 61
because the offense and the manner of its commission would be 62
likely to produce death or the unlawful termination of another's 63
pregnancy, to have intended to cause the death of any person who 64
is killed or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy 65
during the commission of, attempt to commit, or flight from the 67
commission of or attempt to commit, the offense. If a jury in an 68
aggravated murder case is instructed that a person who commits or 69
attempts to commit any offense listed in division (B) of this 70
section may be inferred, because the offender engaged in a common
design with others to commit the offense by force or violence or 71
because the offense and the manner of its commission would be 72
likely to produce death or the unlawful termination of another's 73
pregnancy, to have intended to cause the death of any person who 75
is killed or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy 76
during the commission of, attempt to commit, or flight from the 77
commission of or attempt to commit the offense, the jury also 78
shall be instructed that the inference is nonconclusive, that the 79
inference may be considered in determining intent, that it is to 80
consider all evidence introduced by the prosecution to indicate 81
the person's intent and by the person to indicate the person's 82
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lack of intent in determining whether the person specifically 84
intended to cause the death of the person killed or the unlawful 85
termination of another's pregnancy, and that the prosecution must 86
prove the specific intent of the person to have caused the death 87
or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy by proof 88
beyond a reasonable doubt. 89
Sec. 2929.04. (A) Imposition of the death penalty for 100
aggravated murder is precluded unless one or more of the 101
following is specified in the indictment or count in the 102
indictment pursuant to section 2941.14 of the Revised Code and 103
proved beyond a reasonable doubt: 104
(1) The offense was the assassination of the president of 106
the United States or a person in line of succession to the 107
presidency, the governor or lieutenant governor of this state, 109
the president-elect or vice president-elect of the United States, 110
the governor-elect or lieutenant governor-elect of this state, or 111
a candidate for any of the offices described in this division. 112
For purposes of this division, a person is a candidate if the 114
person has been nominated for election according to law, if the 115
person has filed a petition or petitions according to law to have 116
the person's name placed on the ballot in a primary or general 117
election, or if the person campaigns as a write-in candidate in a 118
primary or general election.
(2) The offense was committed for hire. 120
(3) The offense was committed for the purpose of escaping 122
detection, apprehension, trial, or punishment for another offense 123
committed by the offender. 124
(4) The offense was committed while the offender was a 126
prisoner in a detention facility, as defined in section 2921.01 127
of the Revised Code. 128
(5) Prior to the offense at bar, the offender was 130
convicted of an offense an essential element of which was the 131
purposeful killing of or attempt to kill another, or the offense 132
at bar was part of a course of conduct involving the purposeful 133
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killing of or attempt to kill two or more persons by the 134
offender. 135
(6) The victim of the offense was a law enforcement 137
officer, as defined in section 2911.01 of the Revised Code, whom 138
the offender had reasonable cause to know or knew to be a law 139
enforcement officer as so defined, and either the victim, at the 141
time of the commission of the offense, was engaged in the 142
victim's duties, or it was the offender's specific purpose to 143
kill a law enforcement officer as so defined.
(7) The offense was committed while the offender was 145
committing, attempting to commit, or fleeing immediately after 146
committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, rape, aggravated 147
arson, aggravated robbery, or aggravated burglary, and either the 148
offender was the principal offender in the commission of the 149
aggravated murder or, if not the principal offender, committed 150
the aggravated murder with prior calculation and design. 151
(8) The victim of the aggravated murder was a witness to 153
an offense who was purposely killed to prevent the victim's 154
testimony in any criminal proceeding and the aggravated murder 155
was not committed during the commission, attempted commission, or 156
flight immediately after the commission or attempted commission 157
of the offense to which the victim was a witness, or the victim 158
of the aggravated murder was a witness to an offense and was 159
purposely killed in retaliation for the victim's testimony in any 160
criminal proceeding. 161
(9) The offender, in the commission of the offense, 163
purposefully caused the death of another who was under thirteen 164
years of age at the time of the commission of the offense, and 165
either the offender was the principal offender in the commission 166
of the offense or, if not the principal offender, committed the 167
offense with prior calculation and design. 168
(B) If one or more of the aggravating circumstances listed 170
in division (A) of this section is specified in the indictment or 171
count in the indictment and proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and 172
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if the offender did not raise the matter of age pursuant to 173
section 2929.023 of the Revised Code or if the offender, after 174
raising the matter of age, was found at trial to have been 175
eighteen years of age or older at the time of the commission of 176
the offense, the court, trial jury, or panel of three judges 177
shall consider, and weigh against the aggravating circumstances 178
proved beyond a reasonable doubt, the nature and circumstances of 179
the offense, the history, character, and background of the 180
offender, and all of the following factors: 181
(1) Whether the victim of the offense induced or 183
facilitated it; 184
(2) Whether it is unlikely that the offense would have 186
been committed, but for the fact that the offender was under 187
duress, coercion, or strong provocation; 188
(3) Whether, at the time of committing the offense, the 190
offender, because of a mental disease or defect, lacked 191
substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of the 192
offender's conduct or to conform the offender's conduct to the 194
requirements of the law;
(4) The youth of the offender; 196
(5) The offender's lack of a significant history of prior 198
criminal convictions and delinquency adjudications; 199
(6) If the offender was a participant in the offense but 201
not the principal offender, the degree of the offender's 202
participation in the offense and the degree of the offender's 203
participation in the acts that led to the death of the victim; 204
(7) Any other factors that are relevant to the issue of 206
whether the offender should be sentenced to death. 207
(C) The defendant shall be given great latitude in the 209
presentation of evidence of the factors listed in division (B) of 210
this section and of any other factors in mitigation of the 211
imposition of the sentence of death. 212
The existence of any of the mitigating factors listed in 214
division (B) of this section does not preclude the imposition of 215
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a sentence of death on the offender but shall be weighed pursuant 217
to divisions (D)(2) and (3) of section 2929.03 of the Revised 218
Code by the trial court, trial jury, or the panel of three judges 219
against the aggravating circumstances the offender was found 220
guilty of committing.
Section 2. That existing sections 2903.01 and 2929.04 of 222
the Revised Code are hereby repealed. 223
Section 3. Section 2929.04 of the Revised Code is 225
presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by 226
both Sub. H.B. 151 and Am. S.B. 32 of the 122nd General Assembly, 227
with the new language of neither of the acts shown in capital 229
letters. This is in recognition of the principle stated in 230
division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that such 231
amendments are to be harmonized where not substantively 232
irreconcilable and constitutes a legislative finding that such is 233
the resulting version in effect prior to the effective date of 234
this act.