BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to capital punishment; amending RCW 10.95.030, 10.95.040, and 10.95.080; 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 for a person sixteen years of age or older. In no case, however, shall a person be sentenced to death if 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. A diagnosis of mental retardation 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 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.

(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 10.95.040 and 1981 c 138 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) If a person sixteen years of age or older is charged with aggravated first degree murder as defined by RCW 10.95.020, the prosecuting attorney shall file written notice of a special sentencing proceeding to determine whether or not the death penalty should be imposed when there is reason to believe that there are not sufficient mitigating circumstances to merit leniency.

(2) The notice of special sentencing proceeding shall be filed and served on the defendant or the defendant's attorney within thirty days after the defendant's arraignment upon the charge of aggravated first degree murder unless the court, for good cause shown, extends or reopens the period for filing and service of the notice. Except with the consent of the prosecuting attorney, during the period in which the prosecuting attorney may file the notice of special sentencing proceeding, the defendant may not tender a plea of guilty to the charge of aggravated first degree murder nor may the court accept a plea of guilty to the charge of aggravated first degree murder or any lesser included offense.

(3) If a notice of special sentencing proceeding is not filed and served as provided in this section, the prosecuting attorney may not request the death penalty.

Sec. 3. RCW 10.95.080 and 1981 c 138 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) If a jury answers affirmatively the question posed by RCW 10.95.060(4), or when a jury is waived as allowed by RCW 10.95.050(2) and the trial court answers affirmatively the question posed by RCW 10.95.060(4), the defendant shall be sentenced to death. The trial court may not suspend or defer the execution or imposition of the sentence.

(2) If the jury does not return an affirmative answer to the question posed in RCW 10.95.060(4), the defendant shall be sentenced to life imprisonment as provided in RCW 10.95.030(1).

(3) This section applies to persons sixteen years of age or older.