As Passed by the Senate 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-NEIN-CARNES-ZALESKI-DRAKE-BLESSING- 9
WATTS-J. JOHNSON-LATELL-SCHAFRATH 10
12
A B I L L
To amend sections 2903.01, 2929.04, and 2941.14 of 14
the Revised Code to expand the offense of 15
aggravated murder to also prohibit purposely
causing the death of a victim under thirteen 16
years of age and to include as a capital offense 17
aggravating circumstance that the offender, in 19
the commission of the offense, purposefully
caused the death of a child under thirteen years 20
of age when the offender either was the principal 21
offender or committed the aggravated murder with 22
prior calculation and design.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 24
Section 1. That sections 2903.01, 2929.04, and 2941.14 of 26
the Revised Code be amended to read as follows: 27
Sec. 2903.01. (A) No person shall purposely, and with 36
prior calculation and design, cause the death of another or the 37
unlawful termination of another's pregnancy. 38
(B) No person shall purposely cause the death of another 40
or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy while 42
committing or attempting to commit, or while fleeing immediately 43
after committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, rape, 44
aggravated arson or arson, aggravated robbery or robbery,
aggravated burglary or burglary, or escape. 45
(C) NO PERSON SHALL PURPOSELY CAUSE THE DEATH OF ANOTHER 47
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WHO IS UNDER THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF THE COMMISSION 48
OF THE OFFENSE.
(D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of aggravated 50
murder, and shall be punished as provided in section 2929.02 of 51
the Revised Code. 52
(D)(E) No person shall be convicted of aggravated murder 54
IN VIOLATION OF DIVISION (A) OR (B) OF THIS SECTION unless the 56
person is specifically found to have intended to cause the death 57
of another or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy.
In no case shall a jury in an aggravated murder case INVOLVING AN 59
ALLEGED VIOLATION OF DIVISION (A) OR (B) OF THIS SECTION be 60
instructed in such a manner that it may believe that a person who 61
commits or attempts to commit any offense listed in division (B) 62
of this section is to be conclusively inferred, because the 63
person engaged in a common design with others to commit the 64
offense by force and violence or because the offense and the 65
manner of its commission would be likely to produce death or the 66
unlawful termination of another's pregnancy, to have intended to 67
cause the death of any person who is killed or the unlawful 68
termination of another's pregnancy during the commission of, 69
attempt to commit, or flight from the commission of or attempt to 70
commit, the offense. If a jury in an aggravated murder case 71
INVOLVING AN ALLEGED VIOLATION OF DIVISION (A) OR (B) OF THIS 72
SECTION is instructed that a person who commits or attempts to 73
commit any offense listed in division (B) of this section may be 74
inferred, because the offender engaged in a common design with 75
others to commit the offense by force or violence or because the 76
offense and the manner of its commission would be likely to 77
produce death or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy, 78
to have intended to cause the death of any person who is killed 79
or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy during the 80
commission of, attempt to commit, or flight from the commission 81
of or attempt to commit the offense, the jury also shall be 82
instructed that the inference is nonconclusive, that the 83
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inference may be considered in determining intent, that it is to 84
consider all evidence introduced by the prosecution to indicate 85
the person's intent and by the person to indicate the person's 86
lack of intent in determining whether the person specifically 88
intended to cause the death of the person killed or the unlawful 89
termination of another's pregnancy, and that the prosecution must 90
prove the specific intent of the person to have caused the death 91
or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy by proof 92
beyond a reasonable doubt. 93
Sec. 2929.04. (A) Imposition of the death penalty for 102
aggravated murder is precluded, unless one or more of the 103
following is specified in the indictment or count in the 104
indictment pursuant to section 2941.14 of the Revised Code and 105
proved beyond a reasonable doubt: 106
(1) The offense was the assassination of the president of 108
the United States or person in line of succession to the 109
presidency, or of the governor or lieutenant governor of this 110
state, or of the president-elect or vice president-elect of the 111
United States, or of the governor-elect or lieutenant 112
governor-elect of this state, or of a candidate for any of the 113
foregoing offices. For purposes of this division, a person is a 114
candidate if he THE PERSON has been nominated for election 115
according to law, or if he THE PERSON has filed a petition or 116
petitions according to law to have his THE PERSON'S name placed 117
on the ballot in a primary or general election, or if he THE 118
PERSON campaigns as a write-in candidate in a primary or general 119
election.
(2) The offense was committed for hire. 121
(3) The offense was committed for the purpose of escaping 123
detection, apprehension, trial, or punishment for another offense 124
committed by the offender. 125
(4) The offense was committed while the offender was a 127
prisoner in a detention facility as defined in section 2921.01 of 128
the Revised Code. 129
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(5) Prior to the offense at bar, the offender was 131
convicted of an offense an essential element of which was the 132
purposeful killing of or attempt to kill another, or the offense 133
at bar was part of a course of conduct involving the purposeful 134
killing of or attempt to kill two or more persons by the 135
offender. 136
(6) The victim of the offense was a peace officer, as 138
defined in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code, whom the offender 139
had reasonable cause to know or knew to be such, and either the 140
victim, at the time of the commission of the offense, was engaged 141
in his THE VICTIM'S duties, or it was the offender's specific 142
purpose to kill a peace officer. 143
(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 his 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 his THE VICTIM'S testimony in 160
any 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
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(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
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 his THE 192
OFFENDER'S conduct or to conform his THE OFFENDER'S conduct to 194
the 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
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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
a sentence of death on the offender, but shall be weighed 216
pursuant to divisions (D)(2) and (3) of section 2929.03 of the 217
Revised Code by the trial court, trial jury, or the panel of 218
three judges against the aggravating circumstances the offender 219
was found guilty of committing. 220
Sec. 2941.14. (A) In an indictment for aggravated murder, 229
murder, or voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, the manner in 230
which, or the means by which the death was caused need not be set 231
forth. 232
(B) Imposition of the death penalty for aggravated murder 234
is precluded unless the indictment or count in the indictment 235
charging the offense specifies one or more of the aggravating 236
circumstances listed in division (A) of section 2929.04 of the 237
Revised Code. If more than one aggravating circumstance is 238
specified to an indictment or count, each shall be in a 239
separately numbered specification, and if an aggravating 240
circumstance is specified to a count in an indictment containing 241
more than one count, such specification shall be identified as to 242
the count to which it applies. 243
(C) A specification to an indictment or count in an 245
indictment charging aggravated murder shall be stated at the end 246
of the body of the indictment or count, and may be in 247
substantially the following form: 248
Specification "SPECIFICATION (or, Specification 1 251
SPECIFICATION 1, or Specification to the First Count 252
SPECIFICATION TO THE FIRST COUNT, or, Specification 1 to the 254
First Count SPECIFICATION 1 TO THE FIRST COUNT). The Grand 255
Jurors further find and specify that (set forth the applicable 256
aggravating circumstance listed in divisions (A)(1) to (8)(9) of 258
section 2929.04 of the Revised Code. The aggravating
circumstance may be stated in the words of the subdivision in 259
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which it appears, or in words sufficient to give the accused 260
notice of the same)." 261
Section 2. That existing sections 2903.01, 2929.04, and 263
2941.14 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed. 264