House Bill No. 5385
House Bill No. 5385
PUBLIC ACT NO. 94-37
AN ACT CONCERNING PERSISTENT DANGEROUS FELONY
OFFENDERS AND PAROLE ELIGIBILITY.
Section 1. Section 53a-40 of the general
statutes is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) A persistent dangerous felony offender is
a person who (1) stands convicted of manslaughter,
arson, kidnapping, sexual assault in the first or
third degree, aggravated sexual assault in the
first degree, sexual assault in the third degree
with a firearm, robbery in the first or second
degree, or assault in the first degree, and (2)
has been, prior to the commission of the present
crime, convicted of and imprisoned under a
sentence to a term of imprisonment of more than
one year or of death, in this state or in any
other state or in a federal correctional
institution, for any of the following crimes: (A)
The crimes enumerated in subdivision (1) of this
subsection, murder, or an attempt to commit any of
said crimes or murder; or (B) prior to October 1,
1975, any of the crimes enumerated in section
53a-72, 53a-75 or 53a-78 of the general statutes,
revision of 1958, revised to 1975, or prior to
October 1, 1971, in this state, assault with
intent to kill under section 54-117, or any of the
crimes enumerated in sections 53-9, 53-10, 53-11,
53-12 to 53-16, inclusive, 53-19, 53-21, 53-69,
53-78 to 53-80, inclusive, 53-82, 53-83, 53-86,
53-238 and 53-239 of the general statutes,
revision of 1958, revised to 1968, or any
predecessor statutes in this state, or an attempt
to commit any of said crimes; or (C) in any other
state, any crimes the essential elements of which
are substantially the same as any of the crimes
enumerated in subdivision (1) or (2) of this
subsection.
(b) A persistent serious felony offender is a
person who (1) stands convicted of a felony, and
(2) has been, prior to the commission of the
present felony, convicted of and imprisoned under
an imposed term of more than one year or of death,
in this state or in any other state or in a
federal correctional institution, for a crime.
This subsection shall not apply where the present
conviction is for a crime enumerated in
subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section
and the prior conviction was for a crime other
than those enumerated in subsection (a) of this
section.
(c) A persistent larceny offender is a person
who (1) stands convicted of larceny in the third
degree in violation of the provisions of section
53a-124 in effect prior to October 1, 1982, or
larceny in the fourth, fifth or sixth degree and
(2) has been, at separate times prior to the
commission of the present larceny, twice convicted
of the crime of larceny.
(d) A persistent felony offender is a person
who (1) stands convicted of a felony other than a
class D felony, and (2) has been, at separate
times prior to the commission of the present
felony, twice convicted of a felony other than a
class D felony.
(e) It shall be an affirmative defense to the
charge of being a persistent offender under this
section that (1) as to any prior conviction on
which the state is relying the defendant was
pardoned on the ground of innocence, and (2)
without such conviction, the defendant was not two
or more times convicted and imprisoned as required
by this section.
(f) When any person has been found to be a
persistent dangerous felony offender, and the
court is of the opinion that his history and
character and the nature and circumstances of his
criminal conduct indicate that extended
incarceration and lifetime supervision will best
serve the public interest, the court, in lieu of
imposing the sentence of imprisonment authorized
by section 53a-35 for the crime of which such
person presently stands convicted, or authorized
by section 53a-35a if the crime of which such
person presently stands convicted was committed on
or after July 1, 1981, [may impose the sentence of
imprisonment authorized by said section for a
class A felony] SHALL SENTENCE SUCH PERSON TO A
TERM OF IMPRISONMENT OF NOT MORE THAN FORTY YEARS
AND, IF SUCH PERSON HAS, AT SEPARATE TIMES PRIOR
TO THE COMMISSION OF THE PRESENT CRIME, BEEN TWICE
CONVICTED OF AND IMPRISONED FOR ANY OF THE CRIMES
ENUMERATED IN SUBDIVISION (2) OF SUBSECTION (a) OF
THIS SECTION, SENTENCE SUCH PERSON TO A TERM OF
IMPRISONMENT OF NOT MORE THAN LIFE.
(g) When any person has been found to be a
persistent serious felony offender, and the court
is of the opinion that his history and character
and the nature and circumstances of his criminal
conduct indicate that extended incarceration will
best serve the public interest, the court in lieu
of imposing the sentence of imprisonment
authorized by section 53a-35 for the crime of
which such person presently stands convicted, or
authorized by section 53a-35a if the crime of
which such person presently stands convicted was
committed on or after July 1, 1981, may impose the
sentence of imprisonment authorized by said
section for the next more serious degree of
felony.
(h) When any person has been found to be a
persistent larceny offender, and the court is of
the opinion that his history and character and the
nature and circumstances of his criminal conduct
indicate that extended incarceration will best
serve the public interest, the court, in lieu of
imposing the sentence authorized by section 53a-36
for the crime of which such person presently
stands convicted, may impose the sentence of
imprisonment for a class D felony authorized by
section 53a-35, if the crime of which such person
presently stands convicted was committed prior to
July 1, 1981, or authorized by section 53a-35a, if
the crime of which such person presently stands
convicted was committed on or after July 1, 1981.
(i) When any person has been found to be a
persistent felony offender, and the court is of
the opinion that his history and character and the
nature and circumstances of his criminal conduct
indicate that extended incarceration will best
serve the public interest, the court, in lieu of
imposing the sentence authorized by section
53a-35a for the crime of which such person
presently stands convicted, may impose the
sentence of imprisonment authorized by said
section for the next more serious degree of
felony; provided the sentence imposed may not be
less than three years, and provided further three
years of the sentence so imposed may not be
suspended or reduced by the court.
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 54-125a of
the general statutes, as amended by section 2 of
public act 93-219, is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(b) No person convicted of any of the
following offenses, which was committed on or
after July 1, 1981, shall be eligible for parole
under subsection (a) of this section: Capital
felony, as defined in section 53a-54b, felony
murder, as defined in section 53a-54c, arson
murder, as defined in section 53a-54d, [or]
murder, as defined in section 53a-54a, OR ANY
OFFENSE COMMITTED WITH A FIREARM, AS DEFINED IN
SECTION 53a-3, IN OR ON, OR WITHIN ONE THOUSAND
FIVE HUNDRED FEET OF, THE REAL PROPERTY COMPRISING
A PUBLIC OR PRIVATE ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY
SCHOOL. No person convicted of any other offense
for which there is a mandatory minimum sentence
which may not be suspended or reduced by the court
shall be eligible for parole under subsection (a)
of this section until such person has served such
mandatory minimum sentence or fifty per cent of
the definite sentence imposed, whichever is
greater.