HB351 Summary

• Allows defendants under age 18 at time of capital offense to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for 40 years instead of mandatory life without parole or death, complying with U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Miller v. Alabama and Graham v. Florida.

• Permits juvenile defendants sentenced under this provision one parole eligibility hearing 40 years after sentencing; if parole is denied, defendants become ineligible for future parole and cannot receive incentive time deductions.

• Applies the 40-year option to non-homicide crimes where life without parole is the only authorized sentence if the defendant proves by preponderance of evidence they were under 18 at time of offense.

• Applies new procedures only to defendants not yet sentenced for capital murder on or after the effective date, with exception for defendants ordered by court to retroactively seek lesser sentences under state or federal constitutional grounds.

• Becomes effective immediately upon passage and gubernatorial approval.