BILL REQ. #:  H-3428.2 

Prefiled 12/23/2003. Read first time 01/12/2004.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to prohibiting plea bargains in multiple capital murder cases; amending RCW 10.95.020; adding new sections to chapter 10.95 RCW; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 10.95 RCW to read as follows:
     State law provides that persons are guilty of aggravated first degree murder if, with a premeditated intent to cause the death of another person, they cause the death of such person or of a third person, and there was more than one victim, and the murders were part of a common scheme or plan, or the result of a single act of such persons.
     As criminal courts become ever more crowded and overburdened, prosecutors and judges feel increased pressure to move cases quickly through the system, thus many criminal cases are settled by plea bargains. Plea bargains are agreements made between defendants and prosecutors whereby defendants plead guilty or no contest to certain criminal charges and prosecutors agree to drop some charges, reduce certain charges, or recommend that judges enter specific sentences that are acceptable to the defendants.
     The legislature finds that plea bargains in multiple capital murder cases are not appropriate and deny justice to the victims, their families and friends, and the community at large. The legislature further finds that no plea bargains should be made in multiple capital murder cases, that defendants in such cases should be tried, and that if such defendants are found guilty the death penalty should be presented as an option to the jury.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 10.95 RCW to read as follows:
     A plea bargain is not allowed in any capital murder case where a defendant has, or is alleged to have, with a premeditated intent to cause the death of another person, caused the death of such person or of a third person, and there was more than one victim.
     Upon conviction in multiple capital murder cases, prosecutors shall seek the maximum penalty available under the law.

Sec. 3   RCW 10.95.020 and 2003 c 53 s 96 are each amended to read as follows:
     A person is guilty of aggravated first degree murder, a class A felony, if he or she commits first degree murder as defined by RCW 9A.32.030(1)(a), as now or hereafter amended, and one or more of the following aggravating circumstances exist:
     (1) The victim was a law enforcement officer, corrections officer, or fire fighter who was performing his or her official duties at the time of the act resulting in death and the victim was known or reasonably should have been known by the person to be such at the time of the killing;
     (2) At the time of the act resulting in the death, the person was serving a term of imprisonment, had escaped, or was on authorized or unauthorized leave in or from a state facility or program for the incarceration or treatment of persons adjudicated guilty of crimes;
     (3) At the time of the act resulting in death, the person was in custody in a county or county-city jail as a consequence of having been adjudicated guilty of a felony;
     (4) The person committed the murder pursuant to an agreement that he or she would receive money or any other thing of value for committing the murder;
     (5) The person solicited another person to commit the murder and had paid or had agreed to pay money or any other thing of value for committing the murder;
     (6) The person committed the murder to obtain or maintain his or her membership or to advance his or her position in the hierarchy of an organization, association, or identifiable group;
     (7) The murder was committed during the course of or as a result of a shooting where the discharge of the firearm, as defined in RCW 9.41.010, is either from a motor vehicle or from the immediate area of a motor vehicle that was used to transport the shooter or the firearm, or both, to the scene of the discharge;
     (8) The victim was:
     (a) A judge; juror or former juror; prospective, current, or former witness in an adjudicative proceeding; prosecuting attorney; deputy prosecuting attorney; defense attorney; a member of the indeterminate sentence review board; or a probation or parole officer; and
     (b) The murder was related to the exercise of official duties performed or to be performed by the victim;
     (9) The person committed the murder to conceal the commission of a crime or to protect or conceal the identity of any person committing a crime, including, but specifically not limited to, any attempt to avoid prosecution as a persistent offender as defined in RCW 9.94A.030;
     (10) There was more than one victim ((and)), regardless of when the murders occurred, whether the murders occurred in one or more jurisdictions, or whether the murders were part of a common scheme or plan or the result of a single act or multiple acts of the person;
     (11) The murder was committed in the course of, in furtherance of, or in immediate flight from one of the following crimes:
     (a) Robbery in the first or second degree;
     (b) Rape in the first or second degree;
     (c) Burglary in the first or second degree or residential burglary;
     (d) Kidnapping in the first degree; or
     (e) Arson in the first degree;
     (12) The victim was regularly employed or self-employed as a newsreporter and the murder was committed to obstruct or hinder the investigative, research, or reporting activities of the victim;
     (13) At the time the person committed the murder, there existed a court order, issued in this or any other state, which prohibited the person from either contacting the victim, molesting the victim, or disturbing the peace of the victim, and the person had knowledge of the existence of that order;
     (14) At the time the person committed the murder, the person and the victim were "family or household members" as that term is defined in RCW 10.99.020(1), and the person had previously engaged in a pattern or practice of three or more of the following crimes committed upon the victim within a five-year period, regardless of whether a conviction resulted:
     (a) Harassment as defined in RCW 9A.46.020; or
     (b) Any criminal assault.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   This act takes effect July 1, 2004.