As Reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee 1
122nd General Assembly 4
Regular Session Am. S. B. No. 32 5
1997-1998 6
SENATORS HOWARD-GILLMOR-WHITE-CUPP-DIX-LATTA- 8
B. JOHNSON-OELSLAGER 9
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A B I L L
To amend sections 2903.01, 2929.04, and 2941.14 of 13
the Revised Code to expand the offense of 14
aggravated murder to also prohibit purposely
causing the death of a victim under thirteen 15
years of age and to include as a capital offense 16
aggravating circumstance that the offender, in 18
the commission of the offense, purposefully
caused the death of a child under thirteen years 19
of age when the offender either was the principal 20
offender or committed the aggravated murder with 21
prior calculation and design.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 23
Section 1. That sections 2903.01, 2929.04, and 2941.14 of 25
the Revised Code be amended to read as follows: 26
Sec. 2903.01. (A) No person shall purposely, and with 35
prior calculation and design, cause the death of another or the 36
unlawful termination of another's pregnancy. 37
(B) No person shall purposely cause the death of another 39
or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy while 41
committing or attempting to commit, or while fleeing immediately 42
after committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, rape, 43
aggravated arson or arson, aggravated robbery or robbery,
aggravated burglary or burglary, or escape. 44
(C) NO PERSON SHALL PURPOSELY CAUSE THE DEATH OF ANOTHER 46
WHO IS UNDER THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF THE COMMISSION 47
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OF THE OFFENSE.
(D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of aggravated 49
murder, and shall be punished as provided in section 2929.02 of 50
the Revised Code. 51
(D)(E) No person shall be convicted of aggravated murder 53
IN VIOLATION OF DIVISION (A) OR (B) OF THIS SECTION unless the 55
person is specifically found to have intended to cause the death 56
of another or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy.
In no case shall a jury in an aggravated murder case INVOLVING AN 58
ALLEGED VIOLATION OF DIVISION (A) OR (B) OF THIS SECTION be 59
instructed in such a manner that it may believe that a person who 60
commits or attempts to commit any offense listed in division (B) 61
of this section is to be conclusively inferred, because the 62
person engaged in a common design with others to commit the 63
offense by force and violence or because the offense and the 64
manner of its commission would be likely to produce death or the 65
unlawful termination of another's pregnancy, to have intended to 66
cause the death of any person who is killed or the unlawful 67
termination of another's pregnancy during the commission of, 68
attempt to commit, or flight from the commission of or attempt to 69
commit, the offense. If a jury in an aggravated murder case 70
INVOLVING AN ALLEGED VIOLATION OF DIVISION (A) OR (B) OF THIS 71
SECTION is instructed that a person who commits or attempts to 72
commit any offense listed in division (B) of this section may be 73
inferred, because the offender engaged in a common design with 74
others to commit the offense by force or violence or because the 75
offense and the manner of its commission would be likely to 76
produce death or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy, 77
to have intended to cause the death of any person who is killed 78
or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy during the 79
commission of, attempt to commit, or flight from the commission 80
of or attempt to commit the offense, the jury also shall be 81
instructed that the inference is nonconclusive, that the 82
inference may be considered in determining intent, that it is to 83
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consider all evidence introduced by the prosecution to indicate 84
the person's intent and by the person to indicate the person's 85
lack of intent in determining whether the person specifically 87
intended to cause the death of the person killed or the unlawful 88
termination of another's pregnancy, and that the prosecution must 89
prove the specific intent of the person to have caused the death 90
or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy by proof 91
beyond a reasonable doubt. 92
Sec. 2929.04. (A) Imposition of the death penalty for 101
aggravated murder is precluded, unless one or more of the 102
following is specified in the indictment or count in the 103
indictment pursuant to section 2941.14 of the Revised Code and 104
proved beyond a reasonable doubt: 105
(1) The offense was the assassination of the president of 107
the United States or person in line of succession to the 108
presidency, or of the governor or lieutenant governor of this 109
state, or of the president-elect or vice president-elect of the 110
United States, or of the governor-elect or lieutenant 111
governor-elect of this state, or of a candidate for any of the 112
foregoing offices. For purposes of this division, a person is a 113
candidate if he THE PERSON has been nominated for election 114
according to law, or if he THE PERSON has filed a petition or 115
petitions according to law to have his THE PERSON'S name placed 116
on the ballot in a primary or general election, or if he THE 117
PERSON campaigns as a write-in candidate in a primary or general 118
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 of 127
the Revised Code. 128
(5) Prior to the offense at bar, the offender was 130
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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
killing of or attempt to kill two or more persons by the 134
offender. 135
(6) The victim of the offense was a peace officer, as 137
defined in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code, whom the offender 138
had reasonable cause to know or knew to be such, and either the 139
victim, at the time of the commission of the offense, was engaged 140
in his THE VICTIM'S duties, or it was the offender's specific 141
purpose to kill a peace officer. 142
(7) The offense was committed while the offender was 144
committing, attempting to commit, or fleeing immediately after 145
committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, rape, aggravated 146
arson, aggravated robbery, or aggravated burglary, and either the 147
offender was the principal offender in the commission of the 148
aggravated murder or, if not the principal offender, committed 149
the aggravated murder with prior calculation and design. 150
(8) The victim of the aggravated murder was a witness to 152
an offense who was purposely killed to prevent his THE VICTIM'S 153
testimony in any criminal proceeding and the aggravated murder 154
was not committed during the commission, attempted commission, or 155
flight immediately after the commission or attempted commission 156
of the offense to which the victim was a witness, or the victim 157
of the aggravated murder was a witness to an offense and was 158
purposely killed in retaliation for his THE VICTIM'S testimony in 159
any criminal proceeding. 160
(9) THE OFFENDER, IN THE COMMISSION OF THE OFFENSE, 162
PURPOSEFULLY CAUSED THE DEATH OF ANOTHER WHO WAS UNDER THIRTEEN 163
YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF THE COMMISSION OF THE OFFENSE, AND 164
EITHER THE OFFENDER WAS THE PRINCIPAL OFFENDER IN THE COMMISSION 165
OF THE OFFENSE OR, IF NOT THE PRINCIPAL OFFENDER, COMMITTED THE 166
OFFENSE WITH PRIOR CALCULATION AND DESIGN. 167
(B) If one or more of the aggravating circumstances listed 169
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in division (A) of this section is specified in the indictment or 170
count in the indictment and proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and 171
if the offender did not raise the matter of age pursuant to 172
section 2929.023 of the Revised Code or if the offender, after 173
raising the matter of age, was found at trial to have been 174
eighteen years of age or older at the time of the commission of 175
the offense, the court, trial jury, or panel of three judges 176
shall consider, and weigh against the aggravating circumstances 177
proved beyond a reasonable doubt, the nature and circumstances of 178
the offense, the history, character, and background of the 179
offender, and all of the following factors: 180
(1) Whether the victim of the offense induced or 182
facilitated it; 183
(2) Whether it is unlikely that the offense would have 185
been committed, but for the fact that the offender was under 186
duress, coercion, or strong provocation; 187
(3) Whether, at the time of committing the offense, the 189
offender, because of a mental disease or defect, lacked 190
substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his THE 191
OFFENDER'S conduct or to conform his THE OFFENDER'S conduct to 193
the requirements of the law;
(4) The youth of the offender; 195
(5) The offender's lack of a significant history of prior 197
criminal convictions and delinquency adjudications; 198
(6) If the offender was a participant in the offense but 200
not the principal offender, the degree of the offender's 201
participation in the offense and the degree of the offender's 202
participation in the acts that led to the death of the victim; 203
(7) Any other factors that are relevant to the issue of 205
whether the offender should be sentenced to death. 206
(C) The defendant shall be given great latitude in the 208
presentation of evidence of the factors listed in division (B) of 209
this section and of any other factors in mitigation of the 210
imposition of the sentence of death. 211
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The existence of any of the mitigating factors listed in 213
division (B) of this section does not preclude the imposition of 214
a sentence of death on the offender, but shall be weighed 215
pursuant to divisions (D)(2) and (3) of section 2929.03 of the 216
Revised Code by the trial court, trial jury, or the panel of 217
three judges against the aggravating circumstances the offender 218
was found guilty of committing. 219
Sec. 2941.14. (A) In an indictment for aggravated murder, 228
murder, or voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, the manner in 229
which, or the means by which the death was caused need not be set 230
forth. 231
(B) Imposition of the death penalty for aggravated murder 233
is precluded unless the indictment or count in the indictment 234
charging the offense specifies one or more of the aggravating 235
circumstances listed in division (A) of section 2929.04 of the 236
Revised Code. If more than one aggravating circumstance is 237
specified to an indictment or count, each shall be in a 238
separately numbered specification, and if an aggravating 239
circumstance is specified to a count in an indictment containing 240
more than one count, such specification shall be identified as to 241
the count to which it applies. 242
(C) A specification to an indictment or count in an 244
indictment charging aggravated murder shall be stated at the end 245
of the body of the indictment or count, and may be in 246
substantially the following form: 247
Specification "SPECIFICATION (or, Specification 1 250
SPECIFICATION 1, or Specification to the First Count 251
SPECIFICATION TO THE FIRST COUNT, or, Specification 1 to the 253
First Count SPECIFICATION 1 TO THE FIRST COUNT). The Grand 254
Jurors further find and specify that (set forth the applicable 255
aggravating circumstance listed in divisions (A)(1) to (8)(9) of 257
section 2929.04 of the Revised Code. The aggravating
circumstance may be stated in the words of the subdivision in 258
which it appears, or in words sufficient to give the accused 259
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notice of the same)." 260
Section 2. That existing sections 2903.01, 2929.04, and 262
2941.14 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed. 263