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HF 3419

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.
  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to crime; providing for mandatory sentences 
  1.3             of life without release for all types of first-degree 
  1.4             murder; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 
  1.5             244.05, subdivisions 4 and 5; and 609.184; repealing 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.196. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 244.05, 
  1.9   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 4.  [MINIMUM IMPRISONMENT, LIFE SENTENCE.] An inmate 
  1.11  serving a mandatory life sentence under section 609.184 must may 
  1.12  not be given supervised release under this section.  An inmate 
  1.13  serving a mandatory life sentence under section 609.185, clause 
  1.14  (1), (3), (5), or (6); or 609.346, subdivision 2a, must may not 
  1.15  be given supervised release under this section without having 
  1.16  served a minimum term of 30 years.  An inmate serving a 
  1.17  mandatory life sentence under section 609.385 must may not be 
  1.18  given supervised release under this section without having 
  1.19  served a minimum term of imprisonment of 17 years. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 244.05, 
  1.21  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.22     Subd. 5.  [SUPERVISED RELEASE, LIFE SENTENCE.] (a) The 
  1.23  commissioner of corrections may, under rules promulgated by the 
  1.24  commissioner, give supervised release to an inmate serving a 
  1.25  mandatory life sentence under section 609.185, clause (1), (3), 
  1.26  (5), or (6); 609.346, subdivision 2a; or 609.385 after the 
  2.1   inmate has served the minimum term of imprisonment specified in 
  2.2   subdivision 4. 
  2.3      (b) The commissioner shall require the preparation of a 
  2.4   community investigation report and shall consider the findings 
  2.5   of the report when making a supervised release decision under 
  2.6   this subdivision.  The report shall must reflect the sentiment 
  2.7   of the various elements of the community toward the inmate, both 
  2.8   at the time of the offense and at the present time.  The 
  2.9   report shall must include the views of the sentencing judge, the 
  2.10  prosecutor, any law enforcement personnel who may have been 
  2.11  involved in the case, and any successors to these individuals 
  2.12  who may have information relevant to the supervised release 
  2.13  decision.  The report shall must also include the views of the 
  2.14  victim and the victim's family unless the victim or the victim's 
  2.15  family chooses not to participate. 
  2.16     (c) The commissioner shall make reasonable efforts to 
  2.17  notify the victim, in advance, of the time and place of the 
  2.18  inmate's supervised release review hearing.  The victim has a 
  2.19  right to submit an oral or written statement at the review 
  2.20  hearing.  The statement may summarize the harm suffered by the 
  2.21  victim as a result of the crime and give the victim's 
  2.22  recommendation on whether the inmate should be given supervised 
  2.23  release at this time.  The commissioner must shall consider the 
  2.24  victim's statement when making the supervised release decision. 
  2.25     (d) As used in this subdivision, "victim" means the 
  2.26  individual who suffered harm as a result of the inmate's crime 
  2.27  or, if the individual is deceased, the deceased's surviving 
  2.28  spouse or next of kin. 
  2.29     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.184, is 
  2.30  amended to read: 
  2.31     609.184 [HEINOUS CRIMES.] 
  2.32     Subdivision 1.  [TERMS.] For purposes of this section: 
  2.33     (a) (1) a "heinous crime" is includes:  
  2.34     (1) (i) a violation or attempted violation of section 
  2.35  609.185 or 609.19; 
  2.36     (2) (ii) a violation of section 609.195 or 609.221; or 
  3.1      (3) (iii) a violation of section 609.342, 609.343, or 
  3.2   609.344, if the offense was committed with force or violence.; 
  3.3   and 
  3.4      (b) (2) "previous conviction" means a conviction in 
  3.5   Minnesota of a heinous crime or a conviction elsewhere for 
  3.6   conduct that would have been a heinous crime under this chapter 
  3.7   if committed in Minnesota.  The term includes any conviction 
  3.8   that occurred before the commission of the present offense of 
  3.9   conviction, but does not include a conviction if 15 years have 
  3.10  elapsed since the person was discharged from the sentence 
  3.11  imposed for the offense. 
  3.12     Subd. 2.  [LIFE WITHOUT RELEASE.] The court shall sentence 
  3.13  a person to life imprisonment without possibility of 
  3.14  release under the following circumstances: 
  3.15     (1) if the person is convicted of first degree murder under 
  3.16  section 609.185, clause (2) or (4); or 
  3.17     (2) the person is convicted of first degree murder under 
  3.18  section 609.185, clause (1), (3), (5), or (6), and the court 
  3.19  determines on the record at the time of sentencing that the 
  3.20  person has one or more previous convictions for a heinous crime. 
  3.21     Subd. 3.  [MANDATORY PENALTY FOR CERTAIN MURDERERS.] When a 
  3.22  person is convicted of violating section 609.19 or 609.195, the 
  3.23  court shall sentence the person to the statutory maximum 
  3.24  sentence for the offense if the person was previously convicted 
  3.25  of a heinous crime and 15 years have not elapsed since the 
  3.26  person was discharged from the sentence imposed for that 
  3.27  conviction.  The court may not stay the imposition or execution 
  3.28  of the sentence, notwithstanding section 609.135. 
  3.29     Sec. 4.  [REPEALER.] 
  3.30     Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.196, is repealed. 
  3.31     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.32     Sections 1 to 4 are effective August 1, 1998, and apply to 
  3.33  crimes committed on or after that date.