BILL REQ. #:  H-0375.1 

Read first time 02/14/2003.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to aggravated first degree murder; amending RCW 10.95.030, 10.95.070, and 10.95.130; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 10.95.030 and 1993 c 479 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, any person convicted of the crime of aggravated first degree murder shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of release or parole. A person sentenced to life imprisonment under this section shall not have that sentence suspended, deferred, or commuted by any judicial officer and the indeterminate sentence review board or its successor may not parole such prisoner nor reduce the period of confinement in any manner whatsoever including but not limited to any sort of good-time calculation. The department of social and health services or its successor or any executive official may not permit such prisoner to participate in any sort of release or furlough program.
     (2) If, pursuant to a special sentencing proceeding held under RCW 10.95.050, the trier of fact finds that there are not sufficient mitigating circumstances to merit leniency, the sentence shall be death. In no case, however, shall a person be sentenced to death if at the time the crime was committed, the person was mentally retarded ((at the time the crime was committed,)) under the definition of mental retardation set forth in (a) of this subsection, mentally ill as defined in RCW 71.05.020 and 71.24.025, or had a developmental disability as defined in RCW 71A.10.020. A diagnosis of mental retardation, mental illness, or developmentally disabled shall be documented by a licensed psychiatrist or licensed psychologist designated by the court, who is an expert in the diagnosis and evaluation of mental retardation. The defense must establish mental retardation, mental illness, or developmentally disabled by a preponderance of the evidence and the court must make a finding as to the existence of mental retardation.
     (a) "Mentally retarded" means the individual has: (i) Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning; (ii) existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior; and (iii) both significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning and deficits in adaptive behavior were manifested during the developmental period.
     (b) "General intellectual functioning" means the results obtained by assessment with one or more of the individually administered general intelligence tests developed for the purpose of assessing intellectual functioning.
     (c) "Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning" means intelligence quotient seventy or below.
     (d) "Adaptive behavior" means the effectiveness or degree with which individuals meet the standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected for his or her age.
     (e) "Developmental period" means the period of time between conception and the eighteenth birthday.

Sec. 2   RCW 10.95.070 and 1993 c 479 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     In deciding the question posed by RCW 10.95.060(4), the jury, or the court if a jury is waived, may consider any relevant factors, including but not limited to the following:
     (1) Whether the defendant has or does not have a significant history, either as a juvenile or an adult, of prior criminal activity;
     (2) Whether the murder was committed while the defendant was under the influence of extreme mental disturbance;
     (3) Whether the victim consented to the act of murder;
     (4) Whether the defendant was an accomplice to a murder committed by another person where the defendant's participation in the murder was relatively minor;
     (5) Whether the defendant acted under duress or domination of another person;
     (6) Whether, at the time of the murder, the capacity of the defendant to appreciate the wrongfulness of his or her conduct or to conform his or her conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired as a result of mental disease or defect. However, a person found to be mentally retarded, mentally ill, or developmentally disabled under RCW 10.95.030(2) may in no case be sentenced to death;
     (7) Whether the age of the defendant at the time of the crime calls for leniency; and
     (8) Whether there is a likelihood that the defendant will pose a danger to others in the future.

Sec. 3   RCW 10.95.130 and 1993 c 479 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The sentence review required by RCW 10.95.100 shall be in addition to any appeal. The sentence review and an appeal shall be consolidated for consideration. The defendant and the prosecuting attorney may submit briefs within the time prescribed by the court and present oral argument to the court.
     (2) With regard to the sentence review required by chapter 138, Laws of 1981, the supreme court of Washington shall determine:
     (a) Whether there was sufficient evidence to justify the affirmative finding to the question posed by RCW 10.95.060(4); and
     (b) Whether the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the defendant. For the purposes of this subsection, "similar cases" means cases reported in the Washington Reports or Washington Appellate Reports since January 1, 1965, in which the judge or jury considered the imposition of capital punishment regardless of whether it was imposed or executed, and cases in which reports have been filed with the supreme court under RCW 10.95.120;
     (c) Whether the sentence of death was brought about through passion or prejudice; and
     (d) Whether the defendant was mentally retarded, mentally ill, or developmentally disabled, within the meaning of RCW 10.95.030(2).