Arizona HB 2413: juveniles; natural life sentence; repeal

Bill Text

HB2413 - 531R - I Ver 

 REFERENCE TITLE: juveniles; natural life sentence; repeal

 State of Arizona

 House of Representatives

 Fifty-third Legislature

 First Regular Session

 2017

 HB 2413

 Introduced by 

 Representative 
 Bolding

AN 
ACT

amending sections 13‑751, 13‑752, 
13‑1423 and 13‑2308.01, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to 
sentencing.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted 
by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 13-751, Arizona Revised Statutes, 
is amended to read:

START_STATUTE13-751. Sentence 
of death or life imprisonment; aggravating and mitigating circumstances; 
definition

A. If 
the state has filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty and the 
defendant is:

1. Convicted 
of first degree murder pursuant to section 13‑1105, subsection A, 
paragraph 1 or 3 and was at least eighteen years of age at the time of the 
commission of the offense, the defendant shall be sentenced to death or 
imprisonment in the custody of the state department of corrections for natural 
life as determined and in accordance with the procedures provided in section 13‑752. A 
defendant who is sentenced to natural life is not eligible for commutation, 
parole, work furlough, work release or release from confinement on any basis.� 

2. Convicted 
of first degree murder pursuant to section 13‑1105 and was under eighteen 
years of age at the time of the commission of the offense, the defendant shall 
be sentenced to imprisonment in the custody of the state department of 
corrections for life or 
natural life, as determined and in accordance with the procedures provided in 
section 13‑752.� 
A defendant who is sentenced to natural 
life is 
not eligible for commutation, parole, work furlough, work release or release 
from confinement on any basis. If the defendant is sentenced to 
life, the defendant 
shall not be released on any basis until the completion of the service of 
twenty‑five calendar years if the murdered person was fifteen or more 
years of age and thirty-five years if the murdered person was under fifteen 
years of age or was an unborn child.

3. Convicted 
of first degree murder pursuant to section 13‑1105, subsection A, 
paragraph 2, the defendant shall be sentenced to death or imprisonment in the 
custody of the state department of corrections for life or natural life as 
determined and in accordance with the procedures provided in section 13‑752.� 
A defendant who is sentenced to natural life is not eligible for commutation, 
parole, work furlough, work release or release from confinement on any 
basis. If the defendant is sentenced to life, the defendant shall 
not be released on any basis until the completion of the service of twenty-five 
calendar years if the murdered person was fifteen or more years of age and 
thirty-five years if the murdered person was under fifteen years of age or was 
an unborn child.

B. At 
the aggravation phase of the sentencing proceeding that is held pursuant to 
section 13‑752, the admissibility of information relevant to any of the 
aggravating circumstances set forth in subsection F of this section shall be 
governed by the rules of evidence applicable to criminal trials. The 
burden of establishing the existence of any of the aggravating circumstances 
set forth in subsection F of this section is on the prosecution. The 
prosecution must prove the existence of the aggravating circumstances beyond a 
reasonable doubt.

C. At 
the penalty phase of the sentencing proceeding that is held pursuant to section 
13‑752, the prosecution or the defendant may present any information that 
is relevant to any of the mitigating circumstances included in subsection G of 
this section, regardless of its admissibility under the rules governing 
admission of evidence at criminal trials. The burden of establishing 
the existence of the mitigating circumstances included in subsection G of this 
section is on the defendant. The defendant must prove the existence 
of the mitigating circumstances by a preponderance of the evidence.� If the 
trier of fact is a jury, the jurors do not have to agree unanimously that a 
mitigating circumstance has been proven to exist. Each juror may 
consider any mitigating circumstance found by that juror in determining the 
appropriate penalty.

D. Evidence 
that is admitted at the trial and that relates to any aggravating or mitigating 
circumstances shall be deemed admitted as evidence at a sentencing proceeding 
if the trier of fact considering that evidence is the same trier of fact that 
determined the defendant's guilt.� The prosecution and the defendant shall be 
permitted to rebut any information received at the aggravation or penalty phase 
of the sentencing proceeding and shall be given fair opportunity to present 
argument as to whether the information is sufficient to establish the existence 
of any of the circumstances included in subsections F and G of this section.

E. In 
determining