SF 2231 (LSB 5447XS (2) 88)

SENATE FILE 2231

BY  CARLIN

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the penalties for defendants who aid and abet the commission of murder in the first degree.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  902.1A  Class “A” felony —— aiding and abetting —— minimum term of confinement.
   1.  a.  Notwithstanding section 902.1, subsection 1 and 2, and except as provided in paragraph “b”, a defendant convicted of murder in the first degree in violation of section 707.2, who did not directly commit the act of murder, shall be committed to the custody of the director of the department of corrections for the rest of the defendant’s life with the possibility of parole after serving a mandatory minimum term of confinement of twenty-five years, if the finder of fact determines the defendant aided and abetted the commission of the offense.
   b.  A defendant convicted of murder in the first degree in violation of section 707.2 under the circumstances described in paragraph “a”, and who was under the age of eighteen at the time the offense was committed, shall receive one of the following sentences:
   (1)  Commitment to the director of the department of corrections for the rest of the defendant’s life with the possibility of parole.
   (2)  Commitment to the director of the department of corrections for the rest of the defendant’s life with the possibility of parole after serving a mandatory minimum term of confinement, but in no event shall the mandatory minimum term of confinement exceed twenty-five years.
   2.  If a defendant is paroled pursuant to this subsection, the defendant shall be subject to the same set of procedures set out in chapters 901B, 905, 906, and 908, and rules adopted under those chapters for persons on parole.
    Sec. 2.  Section 903A.2, subsection 5, Code 2020, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  Earned time accrued by inmates serving life sentences imposed under section 902.1 or 902.1A shall not reduce the life sentence, or any mandatory minimum sentence imposed under section 902.1 or 902.1A, except that earned time accrued shall be credited against the inmate’s life sentence if the life sentence is commuted to a term of years under section 902.2, but shall not reduce any mandatory minimum sentence imposed under section 902.1 or 902.1A.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the penalties for defendants who aid and abet the commission of murder in the first degree.
   Currently, a person convicted of murder in the first degree serves a life sentence without the possibility of parole, except for a juvenile who commits such an offense. The bill provides that a defendant convicted of murder in the first degree, other than a juvenile, who did not directly commit the act of murder, shall be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving a mandatory minimum term of confinement of 25 years, if the finder of fact determines the defendant aided and abetted the commission of the offense. 
   The bill specifies that a juvenile shall be sentenced for an offense described above as follows: life in prison with the possibility of parole; or life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving a mandatory minimum term of confinement, but in no event shall the mandatory minimum term of confinement exceed 25 years.
   If a defendant is paroled pursuant to the bill, the defendant shall be subject to the same set of procedures and rules as other defendants on parole.
   The bill also prohibits earned time from reducing any mandatory minimum sentence provided in the bill.