As Reconsidered and Passed by the House 1
122nd General Assembly 4
Regular Session Am. S. B. No. 32 5
1997-1998 6
SENATORS HOWARD-GILLMOR-WHITE-CUPP-DIX-LATTA-B. JOHNSON- 8
OELSLAGER-NEIN-CARNES-ZALESKI-DRAKE-BLESSING-WATTS-J. JOHNSON- 9
LATELL-SCHAFRATH-REPRESENTATIVES LUCAS-GARCIA-MYERS-TAYLOR- 10
WINKLER-CLANCY-O'BRIEN-COUGHLIN-DAMSCHRODER-REID-BRADING- 11
THOMAS-BATEMAN-MOTTL-VERICH-BENDER-SCHULER-TIBERI-FORD-OGG- 12
JONES-KREBS-MEAD-CORBIN-CORE-VESPER-GARDNER-MAIER-PERZ- 13
HAINES-WESTON-CAREY-SALERNO-KASPUTIS-ROMAN-TERWILLEGER- 14
HARRIS-METZGER-HOUSEHOLDER-PRINGLE 15
17
A B I L L
To amend sections 2903.01, 2929.04, and 2941.14 of 19
the Revised Code to expand the offense of 20
aggravated murder to also prohibit purposely 21
causing the death of a victim under thirteen 22
years of age and to include as a capital offense 23
aggravating circumstance that the offender, in 25
the commission of the offense, purposefully 26
caused the death of a child under thirteen years 27
of age when the offender either was the 28
principal offender or committed the aggravated 30
murder with prior calculation and design. 31
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 33
Section 1. That sections 2903.01, 2929.04, and 2941.14 of 35
the Revised Code be amended to read as follows: 36
Sec. 2903.01. (A) No person shall purposely, and with 45
prior calculation and design, cause the death of another or the 46
unlawful termination of another's pregnancy. 47
(B) No person shall purposely cause the death of another 49
or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy while 51
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committing or attempting to commit, or while fleeing immediately 52
after committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, rape, 53
aggravated arson or arson, aggravated robbery or robbery,
aggravated burglary or burglary, or escape. 54
(C) NO PERSON SHALL PURPOSELY CAUSE THE DEATH OF ANOTHER 56
WHO IS UNDER THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF THE COMMISSION 57
OF THE OFFENSE.
(D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of aggravated 59
murder, and shall be punished as provided in section 2929.02 of 60
the Revised Code. 61
(D)(E) No person shall be convicted of aggravated murder 63
unless the person is specifically found to have intended to cause 64
the death of another or, IF THE CASE INVOLVES AN ALLEGED 65
VIOLATION OF DIVISION (A) OR (B) OF THIS SECTION, the unlawful 66
termination of another's pregnancy. In no case shall a jury in 68
an aggravated murder case be instructed in such a manner that it 69
may believe that a person who commits or attempts to commit any 70
offense listed in division (B) of this section is to be 71
conclusively inferred, because the person engaged in a common 72
design with others to commit the offense by force and violence or 73
because the offense and the manner of its commission would be 74
likely to produce death or the unlawful termination of another's 75
pregnancy, to have intended to cause the death of any person who 76
is killed or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy 77
during the commission of, attempt to commit, or flight from the 79
commission of or attempt to commit, the offense. If a jury in an 80
aggravated murder case is instructed that a person who commits or 81
attempts to commit any offense listed in division (B) of this 82
section may be inferred, because the offender engaged in a common
design with others to commit the offense by force or violence or 83
because the offense and the manner of its commission would be 84
likely to produce death or the unlawful termination of another's 85
pregnancy, to have intended to cause the death of any person who 87
is killed or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy 88
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during the commission of, attempt to commit, or flight from the 89
commission of or attempt to commit the offense, the jury also 90
shall be instructed that the inference is nonconclusive, that the 91
inference may be considered in determining intent, that it is to 92
consider all evidence introduced by the prosecution to indicate 93
the person's intent and by the person to indicate the person's 94
lack of intent in determining whether the person specifically 96
intended to cause the death of the person killed or the unlawful 97
termination of another's pregnancy, and that the prosecution must 98
prove the specific intent of the person to have caused the death 99
or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy by proof 100
beyond a reasonable doubt. 101
Sec. 2929.04. (A) Imposition of the death penalty for 110
aggravated murder is precluded, unless one or more of the 111
following is specified in the indictment or count in the 112
indictment pursuant to section 2941.14 of the Revised Code and 113
proved beyond a reasonable doubt: 114
(1) The offense was the assassination of the president of 116
the United States or person in line of succession to the 117
presidency, or of the governor or lieutenant governor of this 118
state, or of the president-elect or vice president-elect of the 119
United States, or of the governor-elect or lieutenant 120
governor-elect of this state, or of a candidate for any of the 121
foregoing offices. For purposes of this division, a person is a 122
candidate if he THE PERSON has been nominated for election 123
according to law, or if he THE PERSON has filed a petition or 124
petitions according to law to have his THE PERSON'S name placed 125
on the ballot in a primary or general election, or if he THE 126
PERSON campaigns as a write-in candidate in a primary or general 127
election.
(2) The offense was committed for hire. 129
(3) The offense was committed for the purpose of escaping 131
detection, apprehension, trial, or punishment for another offense 132
committed by the offender. 133
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(4) The offense was committed while the offender was a 135
prisoner in a detention facility as defined in section 2921.01 of 136
the Revised Code. 137
(5) Prior to the offense at bar, the offender was 139
convicted of an offense an essential element of which was the 140
purposeful killing of or attempt to kill another, or the offense 141
at bar was part of a course of conduct involving the purposeful 142
killing of or attempt to kill two or more persons by the 143
offender. 144
(6) The victim of the offense was a peace officer, as 146
defined in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code, whom the offender 147
had reasonable cause to know or knew to be such, and either the 148
victim, at the time of the commission of the offense, was engaged 149
in his THE VICTIM'S duties, or it was the offender's specific 150
purpose to kill a peace officer. 151
(7) The offense was committed while the offender was 153
committing, attempting to commit, or fleeing immediately after 154
committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, rape, aggravated 155
arson, aggravated robbery, or aggravated burglary, and either the 156
offender was the principal offender in the commission of the 157
aggravated murder or, if not the principal offender, committed 158
the aggravated murder with prior calculation and design. 159
(8) The victim of the aggravated murder was a witness to 161
an offense who was purposely killed to prevent his THE VICTIM'S 162
testimony in any criminal proceeding and the aggravated murder 163
was not committed during the commission, attempted commission, or 164
flight immediately after the commission or attempted commission 165
of the offense to which the victim was a witness, or the victim 166
of the aggravated murder was a witness to an offense and was 167
purposely killed in retaliation for his THE VICTIM'S testimony in 168
any criminal proceeding. 169
(9) THE OFFENDER, IN THE COMMISSION OF THE OFFENSE, 171
PURPOSEFULLY CAUSED THE DEATH OF ANOTHER WHO WAS UNDER THIRTEEN 172
YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF THE COMMISSION OF THE OFFENSE, AND 173
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EITHER THE OFFENDER WAS THE PRINCIPAL OFFENDER IN THE COMMISSION 174
OF THE OFFENSE OR, IF NOT THE PRINCIPAL OFFENDER, COMMITTED THE 175
OFFENSE WITH PRIOR CALCULATION AND DESIGN. 176
(B) If one or more of the aggravating circumstances listed 178
in division (A) of this section is specified in the indictment or 179
count in the indictment and proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and 180
if the offender did not raise the matter of age pursuant to 181
section 2929.023 of the Revised Code or if the offender, after 182
raising the matter of age, was found at trial to have been 183
eighteen years of age or older at the time of the commission of 184
the offense, the court, trial jury, or panel of three judges 185
shall consider, and weigh against the aggravating circumstances 186
proved beyond a reasonable doubt, the nature and circumstances of 187
the offense, the history, character, and background of the 188
offender, and all of the following factors: 189
(1) Whether the victim of the offense induced or 191
facilitated it; 192
(2) Whether it is unlikely that the offense would have 194
been committed, but for the fact that the offender was under 195
duress, coercion, or strong provocation; 196
(3) Whether, at the time of committing the offense, the 198
offender, because of a mental disease or defect, lacked 199
substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his THE 200
OFFENDER'S conduct or to conform his THE OFFENDER'S conduct to 202
the requirements of the law;
(4) The youth of the offender; 204
(5) The offender's lack of a significant history of prior 206
criminal convictions and delinquency adjudications; 207
(6) If the offender was a participant in the offense but 209
not the principal offender, the degree of the offender's 210
participation in the offense and the degree of the offender's 211
participation in the acts that led to the death of the victim; 212
(7) Any other factors that are relevant to the issue of 214
whether the offender should be sentenced to death. 215
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(C) The defendant shall be given great latitude in the 217
presentation of evidence of the factors listed in division (B) of 218
this section and of any other factors in mitigation of the 219
imposition of the sentence of death. 220
The existence of any of the mitigating factors listed in 222
division (B) of this section does not preclude the imposition of 223
a sentence of death on the offender, but shall be weighed 224
pursuant to divisions (D)(2) and (3) of section 2929.03 of the 225
Revised Code by the trial court, trial jury, or the panel of 226
three judges against the aggravating circumstances the offender 227
was found guilty of committing. 228
Sec. 2941.14. (A) In an indictment for aggravated murder, 237
murder, or voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, the manner in 238
which, or the means by which the death was caused need not be set 239
forth. 240
(B) Imposition of the death penalty for aggravated murder 242
is precluded unless the indictment or count in the indictment 243
charging the offense specifies one or more of the aggravating 244
circumstances listed in division (A) of section 2929.04 of the 245
Revised Code. If more than one aggravating circumstance is 246
specified to an indictment or count, each shall be in a 247
separately numbered specification, and if an aggravating 248
circumstance is specified to a count in an indictment containing 249
more than one count, such specification shall be identified as to 250
the count to which it applies. 251
(C) A specification to an indictment or count in an 253
indictment charging aggravated murder shall be stated at the end 254
of the body of the indictment or count, and may be in 255
substantially the following form: 256
Specification "SPECIFICATION (or, Specification 1 259
SPECIFICATION 1, or Specification to the First Count 260
SPECIFICATION TO THE FIRST COUNT, or, Specification 1 to the 262
First Count SPECIFICATION 1 TO THE FIRST COUNT). The Grand 263
Jurors further find and specify that (set forth the applicable 264
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aggravating circumstance listed in divisions (A)(1) to (8)(9) of 266
section 2929.04 of the Revised Code. The aggravating
circumstance may be stated in the words of the subdivision in 267
which it appears, or in words sufficient to give the accused 268
notice of the same)." 269
Section 2. That existing sections 2903.01, 2929.04, and 271
2941.14 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed. 272