Substitute House Bill No. 5445
Substitute House Bill No. 5445
PUBLIC ACT NO. 93-27
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEATH PENALTY.
Section 1. Section 53a-46a of the general
statutes is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) A person shall be subjected to the
penalty of death for a capital felony only if a
hearing is held in accordance with the provisions
of this section.
(b) For the purpose of determining the
sentence to be imposed when a defendant is
convicted of or pleads guilty to a capital felony,
the judge or judges who presided at the trial or
before whom the guilty plea was entered shall
conduct a separate hearing to determine the
existence of any mitigating factor concerning the
defendant's character, background and history, or
the nature and circumstances of the crime,
[including any mitigating factor set forth in
subsection (g),] and any aggravating factor set
forth in subsection [(h)] (i). Such hearing shall
not be held if the state stipulates that none of
the aggravating factors set forth in subsection
[(h)] (i) of this section exists or that [one or
more mitigating factors exist] ANY FACTOR SET
FORTH IN SUBSECTION (h) EXISTS. Such hearing shall
be conducted (1) before the jury which determined
the defendant's guilt, or (2) before a jury
impaneled for the purpose of such hearing if (A)
the defendant was convicted upon a plea of guilty;
(B) the defendant was convicted after a trial
before three judges as provided in subsection (b)
of section 53a-45; or (C) if the jury which
determined the defendant's guilt has been
discharged by the court for good cause, or [,] (3)
before the court, on motion of the defendant and
with the approval of the court and the consent of
the state.
(c) In such hearing the court shall disclose
to the defendant or his counsel all material
contained in any presentence report which may have
been prepared. No presentence information withheld
from the defendant shall be considered in
determining the existence of any mitigating or
aggravating factor. Any information relevant to
any mitigating factor may be presented by either
the state or the defendant, regardless of its
admissibility under the rules governing admission
of evidence in trials of criminal matters, but the
admissibility of information relevant to any of
the aggravating factors set forth in subsection
[(h)] (i) shall be governed by the rules governing
the admission of evidence in such trials. The
state and the defendant shall be permitted to
rebut any information received at the hearing and
shall be given fair opportunity to present
argument as to the adequacy of the information to
establish the existence of any mitigating or
aggravating factor. The burden of establishing any
of the AGGRAVATING factors set forth in subsection
[(h)] (i) shall be on the state. The burden of
establishing any mitigating factor shall be on the
defendant.
(d) In determining whether a mitigating
factor exists concerning the defendant's
character, background or history, or the nature
and circumstances of the crime, pursuant to
subsection (b) of this section, the jury or, if
there is no jury, the court shall first determine
whether a particular factor concerning the
defendant's character, background or history, or
the nature and circumstances of the crime, has
been established by the evidence, and shall
determine further whether that factor is
mitigating in nature, considering all the facts
and circumstances of the case. Mitigating factors
are such as do not constitute a defense or excuse
for the capital felony of which the defendant has
been convicted, but which, in fairness and mercy,
may be considered as tending either to extenuate
or reduce the degree of his culpability or blame
for the offense or to otherwise constitute a basis
for a sentence less than death.
(e) The jury or, if there is no jury, the
court shall return a special verdict setting forth
its findings as to the existence of any FACTOR SET
FORTH IN SUBSECTION (h), THE EXISTENCE OF ANY
aggravating [or] FACTOR OR FACTORS SET FORTH IN
SUBSECTION (i), THE EXISTENCE OF ANY mitigating
factor OR FACTORS, AND THE RELATIVE WEIGHT OF ANY
SUCH AGGRAVATING FACTOR OR FACTORS AND ANY SUCH
MITIGATING FACTOR OR FACTORS.
(f) If the jury or, if there is no jury, the
court finds that (1) NONE OF THE FACTORS SET FORTH
IN SUBSECTION (h) EXIST, (2) one or more of the
AGGRAVATING factors set forth in subsection [(h)]
(i) exist and [that] (3) (A) no mitigating factor
exists OR (B) ONE OR MORE MITIGATING FACTORS EXIST
BUT ARE OUTWEIGHED BY ONE OR MORE AGGRAVATING
FACTORS SET FORTH IN SUBSECTION (i), the court
shall sentence the defendant to death.
(g) If the jury or, if there is no jury, the
court finds that (1) ANY OF THE FACTORS SET FORTH
IN SUBSECTION (h) EXIST, OR (2) none of the
AGGRAVATING factors set forth in subsection [(h)]
(i) exists or [that] (3) ONE OR MORE OF THE
AGGRAVATING FACTORS SET FORTH IN SUBSECTION (i)
EXIST AND ONE OR MORE MITIGATING FACTORS EXIST,
BUT THE ONE OR MORE AGGRAVATING FACTORS SET FORTH
IN SUBSECTION (i) DO NOT OUTWEIGH THE one or more
mitigating factors, [exist,] the court shall
impose a sentence of life imprisonment without the
possibility of release.
[(g)] (h) The court shall not impose the
sentence of death on the defendant if the jury or,
if there is no jury, the court finds by a special
verdict, as provided in subsection (e), that [any
mitigating factor exists. The mitigating factors
to be considered concerning the defendant shall
include, but are not limited to, the following:
That] at the time of the offense (1) he was under
the age of eighteen YEARS or (2) his mental
capacity was significantly impaired or his ability
to conform his conduct to the requirements of law
was significantly impaired but not so impaired in
either case as to constitute a defense to
prosecution or [(3) he was under unusual and
substantial duress, although not such duress as to
constitute a defense to prosecution or (4)] (3) he
was criminally liable under sections 53a-8, 53a-9
and 53a-10 for the offense, which was committed by
another, but his participation in such offense was
relatively minor, although not so minor as to
constitute a defense to prosecution or [(5)] (4)
he could not reasonably have foreseen that his
conduct in the course of commission of the offense
of which he was convicted would cause, or would
create a grave risk of causing, death to another
person.
[(h)] (i) [If no mitigating factor is
present, the court shall impose the sentence of
death on the defendant if the jury or, if there is
no jury, the court finds by a special verdict as
provided in subsection (e) that (1) the] THE
AGGRAVATING FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED SHALL BE
LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING: (1) THE defendant
committed the offense during the commission or
attempted commission of, or during the immediate
flight from the commission or attempted commission
of, a felony and he had previously been convicted
of the same felony; or (2) the defendant committed
the offense after having been convicted of two or
more state offenses or two or more federal
offenses or of one or more state offenses and one
or more federal offenses for each of which a
penalty of more than one year imprisonment may be
imposed, which offenses were committed on
different occasions and which involved the
infliction of serious bodily injury upon another
person; or (3) the defendant committed the offense
and in such commission knowingly created a grave
risk of death to another person in addition to the
victim of the offense; or (4) the defendant
committed the offense in an especially heinous,
cruel or depraved manner; or (5) the defendant
procured the commission of the offense by payment,
or promise of payment, of anything of pecuniary
value; or (6) the defendant committed the offense
as consideration for the receipt, or in
expectation of the receipt, of anything of
pecuniary value.
Sec. 2. Section 53a-35b of the general
statutes is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
A sentence of imprisonment for life shall
mean a definite sentence of sixty years, unless
the sentence is life imprisonment without the
possibility of release, imposed pursuant to
subsection [(f)] (g) of section 53a-46a, AS
AMENDED BY SECTION 1 OF THIS ACT, in which case
the sentence shall be imprisonment for the
remainder of the defendant's natural life.
Sec. 3. Section 53a-46b of the general
statutes is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) Any sentence of death imposed in
accordance with the provisions of section 53a-46a
shall be reviewed by the supreme court pursuant to
its rules. In addition to its authority to correct
errors at trial, the supreme court shall either
affirm the sentence of death or vacate said
sentence and remand for imposition of a sentence
in accordance with subdivision (1) of section
53a-35a.
(b) The supreme court shall affirm the
sentence of death unless it determines that: (1)
The sentence was the product of passion, prejudice
or any other arbitrary factor; (2) the evidence
fails to support the finding of an aggravating
factor specified in subsection [(h)] (i) of
section 53a-46a, AS AMENDED BY SECTION 1 OF THIS
ACT; or (3) the sentence is excessive or
disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar
cases, considering both the circumstances of the
crime and the character and record of the
defendant.
(c) The sentence review shall be in addition
to direct appeal and, if an appeal is taken, the
review and appeal shall be consolidated for
consideration. The court shall then render its
decision on the legal errors claimed and the
validity of the sentence.
Sec. 4. Section 54-100 of the general statutes
is repealed and the following is substituted in
lieu thereof:
The method of inflicting the punishment of
death shall be by [electrocution] LETHAL INJECTION
IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROCEDURES PRESCRIBED BY THE
COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION. The warden of the
Connecticut Correctional Institution, Somers, is
directed to appoint a suitable person to perform
the duty of executing sentences of the court
requiring the infliction of the death penalty.
Such person shall receive, for such duty, such
compensation as is determined by the directors of
the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Somers.
When any person is sentenced TO DEATH by any court
of this state having competent jurisdiction, [to
be electrocuted,] he shall, within twenty days
after final sentence, be conveyed to the
Connecticut Correctional Institution, Somers, and
such punishment shall be inflicted only within the
walls of said institution in Somers, within an
enclosure to be prepared for that purpose under
direction of the warden of the Connecticut
Correctional Institution, Somers, and the board of
directors thereof, which enclosure shall be so
constructed as to exclude public view. Besides the
warden or deputy warden and such number of guards
as he thinks necessary, the following persons may
be present at the execution, but no others: The
sheriff of the county in which the prisoner was
tried and convicted, the board of directors, the
physician of the Connecticut Correctional
Institution, Somers, the clergyman in attendance
upon the prisoner and such other adults, as the
prisoner may designate, not exceeding three in
number, representatives of not more than five
newspapers in the county where the crime was
committed, and one reporter for each of the daily
newspapers published in the city of Hartford.
Sec. 5. Section 54-148 of the general statutes
is repealed and the following is substituted in
lieu thereof:
The support of prisoners in community
correctional centers, sentenced to the Connecticut
Correctional Institution, Somers, or [to be
electrocuted] SENTENCED TO DEATH, shall be paid by
the state.
Vetoed May 4, 1993