February 24, 2005 |
2005-R-0257 | |
CAPITAL FELONY CASE STATISTICS | ||
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By: Christopher Reinhart, Senior Attorney | ||
You asked when the penalties for committing a capital felony changed and for statistics on capital felony cases.
After a person is convicted of a capital felony, the court holds a death penalty sentencing hearings where the jury or a three-judge panel (at the defendant’s option) decides whether to impose a death sentence. Starting in 1973, when the legislature re-wrote the state’s death penalty laws in response to U. S. Supreme Court rulings, the penalty when the person was not sentenced to death was an indeterminate term with a minimum of between 10 and 25 years and a maximum of up to life. That penalty changed to a definite term of 60 years for crimes committed beginning July 1, 1981 (PA 80-442). The penalty changed again, to imprisonment for life without the possibility of release, for crimes committed after October 1, 1985 (PA 85-366).
Based on records from the Office of the Chief Public Defender from October 1973 through January 27, 2005:
1. a defendant was originally charged with a capital felony in 194 cases (this includes some pending cases and some pending a probable cause hearing),
2. 69 defendants were convicted of capital felonies (a few were convicted twice and two had convictions overturned on appeal), and
3. 28 death penalty sentencing hearings were held.
Of the 28 death penalty hearings (not including any sentencing changes from appeals):
1. four resulted in a life sentence,
2. 11 resulted in a sentence of life in prison without possibility of release,
3. 12 resulted in death sentences (with Ross and Breton each sentenced to death twice), and
4. one resulted in a hung jury and is awaiting a new penalty hearing.
CR: ro