SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1992        FILED ON: 1/21/2014

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2008

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Bruce E. Tarr

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to juvenile life with parole.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1992        FILED ON: 1/21/2014

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2008

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Fourteen

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An Act relative to juvenile life with parole.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 130 of chapter 127 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-

(b)  No prisoner sentenced to life in prison for murder in the first degree committed before the person had attained the age of 18 shall be granted a parole permit unless such prisoner proves beyond a reasonable doubt the following:

(i) the prisoner did not exhibit the level of maturity and sense of responsibility of a typical adult at the time of the offense;

(ii) the offense is not evidence of a depraved character; and

(iii) the nature of the crime and circumstances of the offense demonstrate that continued imprisonment is unwarranted and disproportional. 

SECTION 2.  Section 133A of chapter 127 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended, in line 5, by inserting after the word “degree” the following words:-

who had attained the age of 18 years at the time of the murder,

SECTION 3. Section 133C of chapter 127 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended, in line 6, by inserting after the “degree” the following words:-

who had attained the age of 18 years at the time of the murder,

SECTION 4.  Section 2 of Chapter 265 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the first and second sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-

Whoever is guilty of murder committed with deliberately premeditated malice aforethought or with extreme atrocity or cruelty or otherwise guilty of murder in the first degree, and who had attained the age of 18 years at the time of the murder, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life. 

SECTION 5.  Said section 2 of said chapter 265 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended, in line 9, by inserting after the word “person”, the following words:-

, who had attained the age of 18 years at the time of the murder,

SECTION 6. Said section 2 of said chapter 265 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended, in line 12, by inserting after the word “degree” the following words:-

and those serving a life sentence for murder in the first degree committed before the person had attained the age of 18 years at the time of the murder shall be eligible for parole at the expiration of the minimum term fixed by the court

SECTION 7.  Section 24 of chapter 279 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:-

In the case of a sentence to life imprisonment for murder in the first degree committed before the person had attained the age of 18 years at the time of the murder, the court shall fix a minimum term of 35 years.