- A person 18 & over, who:
- “Purposely causes the death of”
- 2 or more human beings OR
- A Peace Officer- in performance of duties
- To prevent that performance; OR
- Retatalion for that performance; AND
- Defendant knew victim was peace officer.
- SENTENCING: If found guilty, the court “shall” sentence defendant to death, except:
- Defendant has right to present mitigating evidence at sentencing hearing; Statute specifically notes intellectual disability as a mitigating factor (though not limited to this).
- Evidence presented at this hearing is a preponderance of evidence standard.
- Defendant has right to present mitigating evidence at sentencing hearing; Statute specifically notes intellectual disability as a mitigating factor (though not limited to this).
- “Purposely causes the death of”
- Command, induce, procure, or cause another to perform the conduct resulting in death, with the purpose of causing death to another human being; OR
- Agree with one or more persons to engage in conduct for the common purpose of causing the death of a human being;
- (1) apply only to persons whose crime is so heinous as to clearly deserve to be executed;
- (2) require that any doubt regarding identification and guilt be resolved in favor of the accused (both at trial and on appeal; and);
- (3) Apply at both the trial and appellate level;
- (4) provide that the only authorized sentence for death penalty murder is death, with a safety valve for those for whom the death penalty would be manifestly unjust, such as those with intellectual disability”
- “[a]nyone who deliberately kills a law enforcement officer or is a mass murderer deserves the death penalty.”
- “So many times the person's caught in the act or so many times there's multiple witnesses and they're fleeing the act and there's no question of who did it.”
- “After February’s tragic murder of Chicago police Commander Paul Bauer and the horrifying school shooting in Parkland, Florida, our team went to work to find meaningful solutions that keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous individuals and bring violent criminals to justice. The result is the bold, innovative, effective public safety package…”
- Death Penalty increases likelihood of plea bargain 20-25%
- Increases number of defendants pleading guilty on their original murder charges; &
- obvious connection exists between death penalty and increased bargaining power of the State.