Bill Text: DE SB188 | 2013-2014 | 147th General Assembly | Draft


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

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-05-13 - Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House [SB188 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2013-SB188-Draft.html


SPONSOR:

Sen. Peterson & Rep. J. Johnson

 

Sens. Blevins, Bushweller, Ennis, Hall-Long, Henry, Marshall, McBride, McDowell, Poore, Sokola, Townsend, Venables; Reps. Baumbach, Scott

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

147th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 188

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


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


Section 1. Amend Chapter 42, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 4214 Habitual criminal; life sentence.

(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. Any person previously sentenced to the statutory maximum as a minimum mandatory sentence for a fourth or subsequent felony under subsection (a) may petition the court for resentencing on the habitual offender portion of the sentence.

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.

(b) Any person who has been 2 times convicted of a felony or an attempt to commit a felony hereinafter specifically named, 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 hereinafter specifically named, or an attempt to commit such specific felony, is declared to be an habitual criminal, and the court in which such third or subsequent conviction is had, in imposing sentence, shall may impose a sentence up to life imprisonment sentence upon the person so convicted unless the subsequent felony conviction requires or allows and results in the imposition of capital punishment. Such sentence shall not be subject to the probation or parole provisions of Chapter 43 of this title.Any person previously sentenced to life imprisonment under subsection (b) may petition the court for resentencing on the habitual offender portion of the sentence.


SYNOPSIS

This bill vests judges with discretion to determine "habitual offender" sentences, rather than the Attorney General's staff.It also permits some offenders whose sentences were determined by the Attorney General's Office to be resentenced by judges.

Author: Senator Peterson

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