Bill Text: DE HB297 | 2011-2012 | 146th General Assembly | Draft

Delaware House Bill 297 (Prior Session Legislation)

Draft

Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 11 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Habitual Criminal Offenders.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-06-13 - Reported Out of Committee (JUDICIARY) in House with 7 On Its Merits [HB297 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2011-HB297-Draft.html

SPONSOR:	Rep. M. Smith & Sen. Blevins & Sen. Sorenson
	Reps. Barbieri, Brady, Kowalko, Longhurst

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

146th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 297

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HABITUAL CRIMINAL OFFENDERS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1.Amend §4214(a), Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strikethrough as follows:

(a) Any person who has been 3 times convicted of a felony, other than those which are specifically mentioned in subsection (b) of this section, under the laws of this State, and/or any other state, United States or any territory of the United States, and who shall thereafter be convicted of a subsequent felony of this State is declared to be an habitual criminal, and the court in which such 4th or subsequent conviction is had, in imposing sentence, may in its discretion, impose a sentence of up to life imprisonment upon the person so convicted. Notwithstanding any provision of this title to the contrary, any person sentenced pursuant to this subsection shall receive a minimum sentence which shall not be less than the statutory maximum penalty provided elsewhere in this title for the 4th or subsequent felony which forms the basis of the State's petition to have the person declared to be an habitual criminal except that this minimum provision shall apply only when the 4th or subsequent felony is a Title 11 violent felony, as defined in §4201(c) of this title. Notwithstanding any provision of this title to the contrary, any sentence of life imprisonment imposed pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject to suspension by the court, and shall be served in its entirety at a full custodial Level V institutional setting without the benefit of probation, parole, earned good time or any other reduction. Notwithstanding any provision of this title to the contrary, any sentence of less than life imprisonment imposed pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject to suspension by the court, and shall be served in its entirety at a full custodial Level V institutional setting without the benefit of probation or parole, except that any such sentence shall be subject to the provisions of �§4205(h), 4217, 4381 and 4382 of this title.

SYNOPSIS

This Act removes the mandatory minimum sentence for a 4th time felony criminal offender when the 4th felony is a violent felony, permitting the court instead to sentence according to its own discretion and within existing sentencing guidelines.The court retains the right to impose a sentence of life imprisonment in such circumstances.