House Bill 4247
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Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 4247
By Representative Crady
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to punishment of capital
3 felons; amending s. 921.141, F.S., relating to
4 further proceedings to determine sentence of
5 death or life imprisonment for capital
6 felonies; providing that the judgment of
7 conviction and sentence of death imposed in a
8 capital case are not subject to being held
9 invalid, overturned, reduced, or otherwise
10 affected because a codefendant in the same case
11 accepted a plea offer in exchange for trial
12 testimony, or an agreement to testify, and was
13 not sentenced to death; prohibiting the Florida
14 Supreme Court from engaging in any form of
15 proportionality review of a death sentence;
16 providing that criteria for review regarding
17 aggravating or mitigating circumstances shall
18 not be utilized except as authorized under
19 specified provisions; providing additional
20 aggravating circumstances to be weighed by the
21 court; providing for an aggravating
22 circumstance that the capital felony was
23 committed when the victim had an injunction for
24 protection in effect against the defendant;
25 providing for an aggravating circumstance that
26 the defendant inflicted multiple physical
27 injuries upon the victim; providing for an
28 aggravating circumstance that the defendant
29 mutilated, dismembered, or sexually abused the
30 victim's body, during or after commission of
31 the capital felony; providing for an
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1 aggravating circumstance that the victim of a
2 homicide had asked that his or her life be
3 spared; providing an effective date.
4
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
6
7 Section 1. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 921.141,
8 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
9 921.141 Sentence of death or life imprisonment for
10 capital felonies; further proceedings to determine sentence.--
11 (1) SEPARATE PROCEEDINGS ON ISSUE OF PENALTY.--Upon
12 conviction or adjudication of guilt of a defendant of a
13 capital felony, the court shall conduct a separate sentencing
14 proceeding to determine whether the defendant should be
15 sentenced to death or life imprisonment as authorized by s.
16 775.082. The proceeding shall be conducted by the trial judge
17 before the trial jury as soon as practicable. If, through
18 impossibility or inability, the trial jury is unable to
19 reconvene for a hearing on the issue of penalty, having
20 determined the guilt of the accused, the trial judge may
21 summon a special juror or jurors as provided in chapter 913 to
22 determine the issue of the imposition of the penalty. If the
23 trial jury has been waived, or if the defendant pleaded
24 guilty, the sentencing proceeding shall be conducted before a
25 jury impaneled for that purpose, unless waived by the
26 defendant. In the proceeding, evidence may be presented as to
27 any matter that the court deems relevant to the nature of the
28 crime and the character of the defendant and shall include
29 matters relating to any of the aggravating or mitigating
30 circumstances enumerated in subsections (5) and (6). Any such
31 evidence which the court deems to have probative value may be
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Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 4247
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1 received, regardless of its admissibility under the
2 exclusionary rules of evidence, provided the defendant is
3 accorded a fair opportunity to rebut any hearsay statements.
4 However, this subsection shall not be construed to authorize
5 the introduction of any evidence secured in violation of the
6 Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the
7 State of Florida. The state and the defendant or the
8 defendant's counsel shall be permitted to present argument for
9 or against sentence of death.
10 (2) ADVISORY SENTENCE BY THE JURY.--After hearing all
11 the evidence, the jury shall deliberate and render an advisory
12 sentence to the court, based upon the following matters:
13 (a) Whether sufficient aggravating circumstances exist
14 as enumerated in subsection (5);
15 (b) Whether sufficient mitigating circumstances exist
16 which outweigh the aggravating circumstances found to exist;
17 and
18 (c) Based on these considerations, whether the
19 defendant should be sentenced to life imprisonment or death.
20 (3) FINDINGS IN SUPPORT OF SENTENCE OF
21 DEATH.--Notwithstanding the recommendation of a majority of
22 the jury, the court, after weighing the aggravating and
23 mitigating circumstances, shall enter a sentence of life
24 imprisonment or death, but if the court imposes a sentence of
25 death, it shall set forth in writing its findings upon which
26 the sentence of death is based as to the facts:
27 (a) That sufficient aggravating circumstances exist as
28 enumerated in subsection (5), and
29 (b) That there are insufficient mitigating
30 circumstances to outweigh the aggravating circumstances.
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1 In each case in which the court imposes the death sentence,
2 the determination of the court shall be supported by specific
3 written findings of fact based upon the circumstances in
4 subsections (5) and (6) and upon the records of the trial and
5 the sentencing proceedings. If the court does not make the
6 findings requiring the death sentence within 30 days after the
7 rendition of the judgment and sentence, the court shall impose
8 sentence of life imprisonment in accordance with s. 775.082.
9 (4) REVIEW OF JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE.--The judgment of
10 conviction and sentence of death shall be subject to automatic
11 review by the Supreme Court of Florida and disposition
12 rendered within 2 years after the filing of a notice of
13 appeal. Such review by the Supreme Court shall have priority
14 over all other cases and shall be heard in accordance with
15 rules promulgated by the Supreme Court.
16 (a) In any case in which the court has imposed the
17 death sentence, the judgment of conviction and sentence of
18 death shall not be held invalid, overturned, reduced, or
19 otherwise affected because a codefendant in the same case
20 accepted a plea offer from the state in exchange for trial
21 testimony, or an agreement to testify, and was not sentenced
22 to death.
23 (b) No criteria for review by the court regarding
24 aggravating or mitigating circumstances shall be utilized
25 except as authorized in this section. The court shall not
26 engage in any form of proportionality review of a death
27 sentence, including, but not limited to, review of a capital
28 case based on comparable aggravating or mitigating
29 circumstances in other capital cases, based on comparable
30 factors in the defendant's background in other capital cases,
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1 or based on the rate of imposition or execution of the death
2 sentence in other capital cases.
3 (5) AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES.--Aggravating
4 circumstances shall be limited to the following:
5 (a) The capital felony was committed by a person
6 previously convicted of a felony and under sentence of
7 imprisonment or placed on community control or on felony
8 probation.
9 (b) The defendant was previously convicted of another
10 capital felony or of a felony involving the use or threat of
11 violence to the person.
12 (c) The defendant knowingly created a great risk of
13 death to many persons.
14 (d) The capital felony was committed while the
15 defendant was engaged, or was an accomplice, in the commission
16 of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing or
17 attempting to commit, any: robbery; sexual battery; aggravated
18 child abuse; abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult
19 resulting in great bodily harm, permanent disability, or
20 permanent disfigurement; arson; burglary; kidnapping; aircraft
21 piracy; or unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a
22 destructive device or bomb.
23 (e) The capital felony was committed for the purpose
24 of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or effecting an
25 escape from custody.
26 (f) The capital felony was committed for pecuniary
27 gain.
28 (g) The capital felony was committed to disrupt or
29 hinder the lawful exercise of any governmental function or the
30 enforcement of laws.
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1 (h) The capital felony was especially heinous,
2 atrocious, or cruel.
3 (i) The capital felony was a homicide and was
4 committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner
5 without any pretense of moral or legal justification.
6 (j) During the course of committing the capital
7 felony, the defendant inflicted multiple physical injuries
8 upon the victim.
9 (k) The defendant mutilated, dismembered, or sexually
10 abused the victim's body, during or after commission of the
11 capital felony.
12 (l)(j) The victim of the capital felony was a law
13 enforcement officer engaged in the performance of his or her
14 official duties.
15 (m)(k) The victim of the capital felony was an elected
16 or appointed public official engaged in the performance of his
17 or her official duties if the motive for the capital felony
18 was related, in whole or in part, to the victim's official
19 capacity.
20 (n)(l) The victim of the capital felony was a person
21 less than 12 years of age.
22 (o)(m) The victim of the capital felony was
23 particularly vulnerable due to advanced age or disability, or
24 because the defendant stood in a position of familial or
25 custodial authority over the victim.
26 (p) The victim had an injunction for protection in
27 effect against the defendant when the capital felony was
28 committed.
29 (q) The victim was aware of the impending homicide and
30 asked that his or her life be spared or otherwise requested
31 that the homicide not occur.
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1 (r)(n) The capital felony was committed by a criminal
2 street gang member, as defined in s. 874.03.
3 (6) MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES.--Mitigating
4 circumstances shall be the following:
5 (a) The defendant has no significant history of prior
6 criminal activity.
7 (b) The capital felony was committed while the
8 defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or
9 emotional disturbance.
10 (c) The victim was a participant in the defendant's
11 conduct or consented to the act.
12 (d) The defendant was an accomplice in the capital
13 felony committed by another person and his or her
14 participation was relatively minor.
15 (e) The defendant acted under extreme duress or under
16 the substantial domination of another person.
17 (f) The capacity of the defendant to appreciate the
18 criminality of his or her conduct or to conform his or her
19 conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired.
20 (g) The age of the defendant at the time of the crime.
21 (h) The existence of any other factors in the
22 defendant's background that would mitigate against imposition
23 of the death penalty.
24
25 However, the court shall not engage in any form of
26 proportionality review of a death sentence, as prohibited in
27 subsection (4).
28 (7) VICTIM IMPACT EVIDENCE.--Once the prosecution has
29 provided evidence of the existence of one or more aggravating
30 circumstances as described in subsection (5), the prosecution
31 may introduce, and subsequently argue, victim impact evidence.
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1 Such evidence shall be designed to demonstrate the victim's
2 uniqueness as an individual human being and the resultant loss
3 to the community's members by the victim's death.
4 Characterizations and opinions about the crime, the defendant,
5 and the appropriate sentence shall not be permitted as a part
6 of victim impact evidence.
7 (8) APPLICABILITY.--This section does not apply to a
8 person convicted or adjudicated guilty of a capital drug
9 trafficking felony under s. 893.135.
10 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
11 law and shall apply to offenses committed on or after that
12 date.
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15 HOUSE SUMMARY
16
Provides that the judgment of conviction and sentence of
17 death imposed in a capital case are not subject to being
held invalid, overturned, reduced, or otherwise affected
18 because a codefendant in the same case accepted a plea
offer in exchange for trial testimony, or an agreement to
19 testify, and was not sentenced to death. Prohibits the
Florida Supreme Court from engaging in any form of
20 proportionality review of a death sentence. Provides that
criteria for review regarding aggravating or mitigating
21 circumstances shall not be utilized except as authorized
under specified provisions.
22
23 Provides additional aggravating circumstances to be
weighed by the court for purposes of sentencing capital
24 felons. Provides for an aggravating circumstance that the
capital felony was committed when the victim had an
25 injunction for protection in effect against the
defendant. Provides for an aggravating circumstance that
26 the defendant inflicted multiple physical injuries upon
the victim. Provides for an aggravating circumstance that
27 the defendant mutilated, dismembered, or sexually abused
the victim's body, during or after commission of the
28 capital felony. Provides for an aggravating circumstance
that the victim of a homicide had asked that his or her
29 life be spared.
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