Modifies provisions relating to trial procedures for murder in the first degree

Summary

The bill requires a two‑stage trial for first‑degree murder when the death penalty is not waived: first the trier decides guilt, then a separate sentencing phase decides punishment. Death can be imposed only if statutory aggravating factors are proven beyond a reasonable doubt and no mitigating evidence outweighs them; otherwise the sentence is life imprisonment without parole, with exceptions for intellectual disability. It applies to murders committed on or after August 28 2001 and ultimately failed to pass.

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