To amend sections 2903.01, 2929.04, and 2941.14 of the Revised Code to expand the offense of aggravated murder to also prohibit purposely causing the death of a victim under thirteen years of age and to prohibit causing the death of a victim under thirteen years of age as a proximate result of committing or attempting to commit felonious assault or aggravated assault against the victim, and to include as a capital offense aggravating circumstance the commission of the aggravated murder against a victim under thirteen years of age when the offender was the principal offender or committed the aggravated murder with prior calculation and design.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Sec. 2903.01. (A) No person shall purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy.

(B) No person shall purposely cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy while committing or attempting to commit, or while fleeing immediately after committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, rape, aggravated arson or arson, aggravated robbery or robbery, aggravated burglary or burglary, or escape.

(C) NO PERSON SHALL PURPOSELY CAUSE THE DEATH OF ANOTHER WHO IS UNDER THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF THE COMMISSION OF THE OFFENSE.

(D) NO PERSON SHALL CAUSE THE DEATH OF ANOTHER WHO IS UNDER THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF THE COMMISSION OF THE OFFENSE AS A PROXIMATE RESULT OF THE OFFENDER'S COMMITTING OR ATTEMPTING TO COMMIT A VIOLATION OF SECTION 2903.11 OR 2903.12 of the Revised Code AGAINST THE PERSON WHO IS UNDER THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE.

(E) Whoever violates this section is guilty of aggravated murder, and shall be punished as provided in section 2929.02 of the Revised Code.

(D)(F) No person shall be convicted of aggravated murder IN VIOLATION OF DIVISION (A) OR (B) OF THIS SECTION unless the person is specifically found to have intended to cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy. In no case shall a jury in an aggravated murder case INVOLVING AN ALLEGED VIOLATION OF DIVISION (A) OR (B) OF THIS SECTION be instructed in such a manner that it may believe that a person who commits or attempts to commit any offense listed in division (B) of this section is to be conclusively inferred, because the person engaged in a common design with others to commit the offense by force and violence or because the offense and the manner of its commission would be likely to produce death or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy, to have intended to cause the death of any person who is killed or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy during the commission of, attempt to commit, or flight from the commission of or attempt to commit, the offense. If a jury in an aggravated murder case INVOLVING AN ALLEGED VIOLATION OF DIVISION (A) OR (B) OF THIS SECTION is instructed that a person who commits or attempts to commit any offense listed in division (B) of this section may be inferred, because the offender engaged in a common design with others to commit the offense by force or violence or because the offense and the manner of its commission would be likely to produce death or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy, to have intended to cause the death of any person who is killed or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy during the commission of, attempt to commit, or flight from the commission of or attempt to commit the offense, the jury also shall be instructed that the inference is nonconclusive, that the inference may be considered in determining intent, that it is to consider all evidence introduced by the prosecution to indicate the person's intent and by the person to indicate the person's lack of intent in determining whether the person specifically intended to cause the death of the person killed or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy, and that the prosecution must prove the specific intent of the person to have caused the death or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Sec. 2929.04. (A) Imposition of the death penalty for aggravated murder is precluded, unless one or more of the following is specified in the indictment or count in the indictment pursuant to section 2941.14 of the Revised Code and proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

(1) The offense was the assassination of the president of the United States or person in line of succession to the presidency, or of the governor or lieutenant governor of this state, or of the president-elect or vice president-elect of the United States, or of the governor-elect or lieutenant governor-elect of this state, or of a candidate for any of the foregoing offices. For purposes of this division, a person is a candidate if he THE PERSON has been nominated for election according to law, or if he THE PERSON has filed a petition or petitions according to law to have his THE PERSON'S name placed on the ballot in a primary or general election, or if he THE PERSON campaigns as a write-in candidate in a primary or general election.

(2) The offense was committed for hire.

(3) The offense was committed for the purpose of escaping detection, apprehension, trial, or punishment for another offense committed by the offender.

(4) The offense was committed while the offender was a prisoner in a detention facility as defined in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code.

(5) Prior to the offense at bar, the offender was convicted of an offense an essential element of which was the purposeful killing of or attempt to kill another, or the offense at bar was part of a course of conduct involving the purposeful killing of or attempt to kill two or more persons by the offender.

(6) The victim of the offense was a peace officer, as defined in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code, whom the offender had reasonable cause to know or knew to be such, and either the victim, at the time of the commission of the offense, was engaged in his THE VICTIM'S duties, or it was the offender's specific purpose to kill a peace officer.

(7) The offense was committed while the offender was committing, attempting to commit, or fleeing immediately after committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, rape, aggravated arson, aggravated robbery, or aggravated burglary, and either the offender was the principal offender in the commission of the aggravated murder or, if not the principal offender, committed the aggravated murder with prior calculation and design.

(8) The victim of the aggravated murder was a witness to an offense who was purposely killed to prevent his THE VICTIM'S testimony in any criminal proceeding and the aggravated murder was not committed during the commission, attempted commission, or flight immediately after the commission or attempted commission of the offense to which the victim was a witness, or the victim of the aggravated murder was a witness to an offense and was purposely killed in retaliation for his THE VICTIM'S testimony in any criminal proceeding.

(9) THE VICTIM OF THE AGGRAVATED MURDER WAS UNDER THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF THE COMMISSION OF THE OFFENSE, AND EITHER THE OFFENDER WAS THE PRINCIPAL OFFENDER IN THE COMMISSION OF THE AGGRAVATED MURDER OR, IF NOT THE PRINCIPAL OFFENDER, COMMITTED THE AGGRAVATED MURDER WITH PRIOR CALCULATION AND DESIGN.

(B) If one or more of the aggravating circumstances listed in division (A) of this section is specified in the indictment or count in the indictment and proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and if the offender did not raise the matter of age pursuant to section 2929.023 of the Revised Code or if the offender, after raising the matter of age, was found at trial to have been eighteen years of age or older at the time of the commission of the offense, the court, trial jury, or panel of three judges shall consider, and weigh against the aggravating circumstances proved beyond a reasonable doubt, the nature and circumstances of the offense, the history, character, and background of the offender, and all of the following factors:

(1) Whether the victim of the offense induced or facilitated it;

(2) Whether it is unlikely that the offense would have been committed, but for the fact that the offender was under duress, coercion, or strong provocation;

(3) Whether, at the time of committing the offense, the offender, because of a mental disease or defect, lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his THE OFFENDER'S conduct or to conform his THE OFFENDER'S conduct to the requirements of the law;

(4) The youth of the offender;

(5) The offender's lack of a significant history of prior criminal convictions and delinquency adjudications;

(6) If the offender was a participant in the offense but not the principal offender, the degree of the offender's participation in the offense and the degree of the offender's participation in the acts that led to the death of the victim;

(7) Any other factors that are relevant to the issue of whether the offender should be sentenced to death.

(C) The defendant shall be given great latitude in the presentation of evidence of the factors listed in division (B) of this section and of any other factors in mitigation of the imposition of the sentence of death.

The existence of any of the mitigating factors listed in division (B) of this section does not preclude the imposition of a sentence of death on the offender, but shall be weighed pursuant to divisions (D)(2) and (3) of section 2929.03 of the Revised Code by the trial court, trial jury, or the panel of three judges against the aggravating circumstances the offender was found guilty of committing.

Sec. 2941.14. (A) In an indictment for aggravated murder, murder, or voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, the manner in which, or the means by which the death was caused need not be set forth.

(B) Imposition of the death penalty for aggravated murder is precluded unless the indictment or count in the indictment charging the offense specifies one or more of the aggravating circumstances listed in division (A) of section 2929.04 of the Revised Code. If more than one aggravating circumstance is specified to an indictment or count, each shall be in a separately numbered specification, and if an aggravating circumstance is specified to a count in an indictment containing more than one count, such specification shall be identified as to the count to which it applies.

(C) A specification to an indictment or count in an indictment charging aggravated murder shall be stated at the end of the body of the indictment or count, and may be in substantially the following form:

Specification "SPECIFICATION (or, Specification 1 SPECIFICATION 1, orSpecification to the First Count SPECIFICATION TO THE FIRST COUNT, or,Specification 1 to the First Count SPECIFICATION 1 TO THE FIRST COUNT). The Grand Jurors further find and specify that (set forth the applicable aggravating circumstance listed in divisions (A)(1) to (8)(9) of section 2929.04 of the Revised Code. The aggravating circumstance may be stated in the words of the subdivision in which it appears, or in words sufficient to give the accused notice of the same)."