Amendment #45 to H4000

Juvenile First Degree Murder

Representatives Jones of North Reading, Peterson of Grafton, Hill of Ipswich, Poirier of North Attleborough and deMacedo of Plymouth move to amend the bill by inserting the following new sections:—

“SECTION XX. Section 130 of chapter 127 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by  inserting before the text of the section the following:- (a)

; and further by adding at the end thereof 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 all members of the parole board vote unanimously in favor of the parole permit.

SECTION XX.  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 XX. 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 XX.  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 XX.  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 XX. 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 XX.  Section 24 of chapter 279 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof 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. “.