SB 1035 - Revising the Penalty for Capital Felonies

• Reclassifies "capital felony" as "murder with special circumstances" effective upon passage for future crimes, while maintaining death penalty eligibility only for capital felonies committed prior to the effective date under prior law.

• Changes sentencing for murder with special circumstances committed after the effective date from potential death penalty to mandatory life imprisonment without possibility of release as a Class A felony.

• Defines murder with special circumstances to include killings of law enforcement, murders for hire, repeat murderers, murders during certain felonies, murders of multiple persons, and murders of children under 16.

• Redefines "life imprisonment" as a definite 60-year sentence unless the sentence is life without possibility of release, which means imprisonment for the remainder of the defendant's natural life.

• Updates over 30 related statutes throughout criminal procedure and sentencing law to distinguish between capital felonies under prior law (still subject to death penalty) and murder with special circumstances under new law (subject to life without release).