Bill Text: IA SF126 | 2021-2022 | 89th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the penalties for defendants who aid and abet the commission of murder in the first degree.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-09 - Subcommittee recommends passage. [SF126 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2021-SF126-Introduced.html
Senate
File
126
-
Introduced
SENATE
FILE
126
BY
CARLIN
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
the
penalties
for
defendants
who
aid
and
1
abet
the
commission
of
murder
in
the
first
degree.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
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Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
902.1A
Class
“A”
felony
——
aiding
1
and
abetting
——
minimum
term
of
confinement.
2
1.
a.
Notwithstanding
section
902.1,
subsection
1
and
2,
3
and
except
as
provided
in
paragraph
“b”
,
a
defendant
convicted
4
of
murder
in
the
first
degree
in
violation
of
section
707.2,
5
who
did
not
directly
commit
the
act
of
murder,
shall
be
6
committed
to
the
custody
of
the
director
of
the
department
7
of
corrections
for
the
rest
of
the
defendant’s
life
with
the
8
possibility
of
parole
after
serving
a
mandatory
minimum
term
9
of
confinement
of
twenty-five
years,
if
the
finder
of
fact
10
determines
the
defendant
aided
and
abetted
the
commission
of
11
the
offense.
12
b.
A
defendant
convicted
of
murder
in
the
first
degree
in
13
violation
of
section
707.2
under
the
circumstances
described
in
14
paragraph
“a”
,
and
who
was
under
the
age
of
eighteen
at
the
time
15
the
offense
was
committed,
shall
receive
one
of
the
following
16
sentences:
17
(1)
Commitment
to
the
director
of
the
department
of
18
corrections
for
the
rest
of
the
defendant’s
life
with
the
19
possibility
of
parole.
20
(2)
Commitment
to
the
director
of
the
department
of
21
corrections
for
the
rest
of
the
defendant’s
life
with
the
22
possibility
of
parole
after
serving
a
mandatory
minimum
term
of
23
confinement,
but
in
no
event
shall
the
mandatory
minimum
term
24
of
confinement
exceed
twenty-five
years.
25
2.
If
a
defendant
is
paroled
pursuant
to
this
subsection,
26
the
defendant
shall
be
subject
to
the
same
set
of
procedures
27
set
out
in
chapters
901B,
905,
906,
and
908,
and
rules
adopted
28
under
those
chapters
for
persons
on
parole.
29
Sec.
2.
Section
903A.2,
subsection
5,
Code
2021,
is
amended
30
to
read
as
follows:
31
5.
Earned
time
accrued
by
inmates
serving
life
sentences
32
imposed
under
section
902.1
or
902.1A
shall
not
reduce
the
33
life
sentence,
or
any
mandatory
minimum
sentence
imposed
under
34
section
902.1
or
902.1A
,
except
that
earned
time
accrued
shall
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126
be
credited
against
the
inmate’s
life
sentence
if
the
life
1
sentence
is
commuted
to
a
term
of
years
under
section
902.2
,
2
but
shall
not
reduce
any
mandatory
minimum
sentence
imposed
3
under
section
902.1
or
902.1A
.
4
EXPLANATION
5
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
6
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
7
This
bill
relates
to
the
penalties
for
defendants
who
aid
and
8
abet
the
commission
of
murder
in
the
first
degree.
9
Currently,
a
person
convicted
of
murder
in
the
first
degree
10
serves
a
life
sentence
without
the
possibility
of
parole,
11
except
for
a
juvenile
who
commits
such
an
offense.
The
bill
12
provides
that
a
defendant
convicted
of
murder
in
the
first
13
degree,
other
than
a
juvenile,
who
did
not
directly
commit
the
14
act
of
murder,
shall
be
sentenced
to
life
in
prison
with
the
15
possibility
of
parole
after
serving
a
mandatory
minimum
term
of
16
confinement
of
25
years,
if
the
finder
of
fact
determines
the
17
defendant
aided
and
abetted
the
commission
of
the
offense.
18
The
bill
specifies
that
a
juvenile
shall
be
sentenced
19
for
an
offense
described
above
as
follows:
life
in
prison
20
with
the
possibility
of
parole;
or
life
in
prison
with
the
21
possibility
of
parole
after
serving
a
mandatory
minimum
term
of
22
confinement,
but
in
no
event
shall
the
mandatory
minimum
term
23
of
confinement
exceed
25
years.
24
If
a
defendant
is
paroled
pursuant
to
the
bill,
the
defendant
25
shall
be
subject
to
the
same
set
of
procedures
and
rules
as
26
other
defendants
on
parole.
27
The
bill
also
prohibits
earned
time
from
reducing
any
28
mandatory
minimum
sentence
provided
in
the
bill.
29
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