Florida Senate - 2018                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 7026
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì306080yÎ306080                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       Senator Lee moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (234288) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 1134 - 1135
    5  and insert:
    6         Section 18. Section 921.139, Florida Statutes, may be cited
    7  as the “Sentencing Accountability and Fair Explanation (SAFE)
    8  Act.”
    9         Section 19. Section 921.139, Florida Statutes, is created
   10  to read:
   11         921.139 Sentencing and accountability for certain crimes.—
   12         (1) The Legislature finds that students have the right to
   13  be safe from violent crime at schools. The Legislature further
   14  finds that the murder or attempted murder of two or more
   15  persons, including students, teachers, administrators, or other
   16  persons, committed on school property with a firearm or deadly
   17  weapon is one of the most morally reprehensible acts imaginable.
   18  Such a crime is directly contrary to all that is just and good.
   19  To ensure justice for the victims, venerate innocent life, and
   20  maximize the power of the law to deter future violent acts at
   21  schools, the branches of government must work together,
   22  consistent with constitutional requirements, to ensure that the
   23  punishment for the crime is as swift and severe as possible.
   24  Consistent with these purposes:
   25         (a) If the identity of an adult who commits murder in the
   26  first degree of two or more persons using a firearm or deadly
   27  weapon on school property is not in doubt due to the quality and
   28  quantity of evidence available to a prosecutor, the prosecutor
   29  should not offer, and the court should not accept, a plea
   30  agreement that excludes the possibility of a death sentence.
   31         (b) If the identity of a person who commits murder in the
   32  first degree of two or more persons using a firearm or deadly
   33  weapon on school property is not in doubt due to the quality and
   34  quantity of evidence available to a prosecutor and the offense
   35  was committed before the person attained 18 years of age, the
   36  prosecutor should not offer, and the court should not accept, a
   37  plea agreement that excludes the possibility of a life sentence.
   38         (c) If the identity of a person who attempts to commit
   39  murder of two or more persons using a firearm or deadly weapon
   40  on school property is not in doubt due to the quality and
   41  quantity of evidence available to a prosecutor, the prosecutor
   42  should not offer, and the court should not accept, a plea
   43  agreement for a sentence that is less than the maximum penalty
   44  for the offense.
   45         (2) As used in this section, the term “school” means any
   46  preschool, elementary school, middle school, junior high school,
   47  secondary school, career center, or postsecondary school,
   48  whether public or nonpublic.
   49         (3) If a prosecutor enters into a plea agreement that is
   50  accepted by a court which is inconsistent with the
   51  recommendations of this section, the office of the state
   52  attorney employing the prosecutor shall issue a report within 30
   53  days after the agreement is accepted by the court which explains
   54  the following:
   55         (a) Whether and the extent to which the prosecutor
   56  conferred with the victims and intended victims, families of the
   57  victims, the investigating officers, and other interested
   58  persons before entering into the plea agreement.
   59         (b) Whether or the extent to which the agreement is
   60  consistent with the severity of the crime and the importance of
   61  the lives of the victims or intended victims.
   62         (c) Whether or the extent to which the plea agreement will
   63  deter similar crimes in the future.
   64         (d) Whether other information justifies the plea agreement.
   65  
   66  The report must be published on the website for the office of
   67  the state attorney for at least 30 days.
   68         Section 20. Subsection (2) of section 921.1401, Florida
   69  Statutes, is amended to read:
   70         921.1401 Sentence of life imprisonment for persons who are
   71  under the age of 18 years at the time of the offense; sentencing
   72  proceedings.—
   73         (2) In determining whether life imprisonment or a term of
   74  years equal to life imprisonment is an appropriate sentence, the
   75  court shall consider factors relevant to the offense and the
   76  defendant’s youth and attendant circumstances, including, but
   77  not limited to:
   78         (a) The nature and circumstances of the offense committed
   79  by the defendant.
   80         (b) The effect of the crime on the victim’s family and on
   81  the community.
   82         (c) The defendant’s age, maturity, intellectual capacity,
   83  and mental and emotional health at the time of the offense.
   84         (d) The defendant’s background, including his or her
   85  family, home, and community environment.
   86         (e) The effect, if any, of immaturity, impetuosity, or
   87  failure to appreciate risks and consequences on the defendant’s
   88  participation in the offense.
   89         (f) The extent of the defendant’s participation in the
   90  offense.
   91         (g) The effect, if any, of familial pressure or peer
   92  pressure on the defendant’s actions.
   93         (h) The nature and extent of the defendant’s prior criminal
   94  history.
   95         (i) The effect, if any, of characteristics attributable to
   96  the defendant’s youth on the defendant’s judgment.
   97         (j) The possibility of rehabilitating the defendant.
   98         (k) The need to deter others from committing murder or
   99  attempted murder with a firearm or deadly weapon on the property
  100  of a school, as defined in s. 921.139.
  101         Section 21. Subsection (6) of section 921.141, Florida
  102  Statutes, is amended to read:
  103         921.141 Sentence of death or life imprisonment for capital
  104  felonies; further proceedings to determine sentence.—
  105         (6) AGGRAVATING FACTORS.—Aggravating factors shall be
  106  limited to the following:
  107         (a) The capital felony was committed by a person previously
  108  convicted of a felony and under sentence of imprisonment or
  109  placed on community control or on felony probation.
  110         (b) The defendant was previously convicted of another
  111  capital felony or of a felony involving the use or threat of
  112  violence to the person.
  113         (c) The defendant knowingly created a great risk of death
  114  to many persons.
  115         (d) The capital felony was committed while the defendant
  116  was engaged, or was an accomplice, in the commission of, or an
  117  attempt to commit, or flight after committing or attempting to
  118  commit, any: robbery; sexual battery; aggravated child abuse;
  119  abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult resulting in great
  120  bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement;
  121  arson; burglary; kidnapping; aircraft piracy; or unlawful
  122  throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or
  123  bomb.
  124         (e) The capital felony was committed for the purpose of
  125  avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or effecting an escape
  126  from custody.
  127         (f) The capital felony was committed for pecuniary gain.
  128         (g) The capital felony was committed to disrupt or hinder
  129  the lawful exercise of any governmental function or the
  130  enforcement of laws.
  131         (h) The capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious,
  132  or cruel.
  133         (i) The capital felony was a homicide and was committed in
  134  a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense
  135  of moral or legal justification.
  136         (j) The victim of the capital felony was a law enforcement
  137  officer engaged in the performance of his or her official
  138  duties.
  139         (k) The victim of the capital felony was an elected or
  140  appointed public official engaged in the performance of his or
  141  her official duties if the motive for the capital felony was
  142  related, in whole or in part, to the victim’s official capacity.
  143         (l) The victim of the capital felony was a person less than
  144  12 years of age.
  145         (m) The victim of the capital felony was particularly
  146  vulnerable due to advanced age or disability, or because the
  147  defendant stood in a position of familial or custodial authority
  148  over the victim.
  149         (n) The capital felony was committed by a criminal gang
  150  member, as defined in s. 874.03.
  151         (o) The capital felony was committed by a person designated
  152  as a sexual predator pursuant to s. 775.21 or a person
  153  previously designated as a sexual predator who had the sexual
  154  predator designation removed.
  155         (p) The capital felony was committed by a person subject to
  156  an injunction issued pursuant to s. 741.30 or s. 784.046, or a
  157  foreign protection order accorded full faith and credit pursuant
  158  to s. 741.315, and was committed against the petitioner who
  159  obtained the injunction or protection order or any spouse,
  160  child, sibling, or parent of the petitioner.
  161         (q) The capital felony was committed on the property of a
  162  school, as defined in s. 921.139.
  163  
  164  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  165  And the title is amended as follows:
  166         Delete line 2516
  167  and insert:
  168         changes made by the act; creating s. 921.139, F.S.;
  169         providing legislative findings and intent; defining
  170         the term “school”; requiring the office of the state
  171         attorney employing a prosecutor who enters into a plea
  172         agreement that is inconsistent with certain
  173         recommendations to issue a report within a specified
  174         timeframe; requiring such reports be published on the
  175         office of the state attorney’s website for at least a
  176         specified period of time; amending s. 921.1401, F.S.;
  177         revising the list of factors relevant to an offense
  178         which a court must consider in determining whether
  179         life imprisonment or a term of years equal to life
  180         imprisonment is an appropriate sentence; amending s.
  181         921.141, F.S.; adding an aggravating factor considered
  182         during a sentencing proceeding of death or life
  183         imprisonment for capital felonies; creating s.
  184         943.082, F.S.;