PRINTER'S NO. 516
No. 9 Session of 1995
INTRODUCED BY MARSICO, McGEEHAN, PICCOLA, RYAN, PERZEL, BARLEY,
BUNT, FARGO, D. W. SNYDER, E. Z. TAYLOR, PHILLIPS, PITTS,
ADOLPH, BIRMELIN, BROWN, BROWNE, CHADWICK, CIVERA, CLARK,
CLYMER, CONTI, CORNELL, DEMPSEY, DENT, DiGIROLAMO, EGOLF,
FAIRCHILD, FARMER, FEESE, FICHTER, FLEAGLE, FLICK, GEIST,
GLADECK, GODSHALL, GRUPPO, HABAY, HARHART, HASAY, HERSHEY,
HESS, HUTCHINSON, KENNEY, KING, LAWLESS, LEH, LYNCH,
MAITLAND, McGILL, MERRY, MILLER, NAILOR, NYCE, PETTIT,
PLATTS, RAYMOND, REBER, REINARD, ROHRER, RUBLEY, SATHER,
SAYLOR, SCHRODER, SCHULER, SEMMEL, SHEEHAN, S. H. SMITH,
STRITTMATTER, J. TAYLOR, TRUE, WAUGH, M. N. WRIGHT, ZUG,
MAJOR, BOYES, BARD, ARGALL, BAKER, STISH, L. I. COHEN,
B. SMITH, STEIL, STERN, ALLEN, DRUCE, KELLER, BUTKOVITZ,
LEDERER, WOZNIAK, DeLUCA, GIGLIOTTI, COY, GEORGE, TRELLO,
SURRA, GAMBLE, GORDNER, TANGRETTI, COWELL, SAINATO, COLAIZZO,
BLAUM, DeWEESE, BUXTON, TRAVAGLIO AND MAYERNIK,
FEBRUARY 1, 1995
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 1, 1995
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the
2 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for
3 sentencing procedure for murder of the first degree; and
4 making a repeal.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Section 9711(d) and (i) of Title 42 of the
8 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended and the section
9 is amended by adding subsections to read:
10 § 9711. Sentencing procedure for murder of the first degree.
11 * * *
1 (d) Aggravating circumstances.--Aggravating circumstances
2 shall be limited to the following:
3 (1) The victim was a [fireman] firefighter, peace
4 officer, public servant concerned in official detention, as
5 defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 5121 (relating to escape), judge of
6 any court in the unified judicial system, the Attorney
7 General of Pennsylvania, a deputy attorney general, district
8 attorney, assistant district attorney, member of the General
9 Assembly, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Auditor General,
10 State Treasurer, State law enforcement official, local law
11 enforcement official, Federal law enforcement official or
12 person employed to assist or assisting any law enforcement
13 official in the performance of his duties, who was killed in
14 the performance of his duties or as a result of his official
15 position.
16 (2) The defendant paid or was paid by another person or
17 had contracted to pay or be paid by another person or had
18 conspired to pay or be paid by another person for the killing
19 of the victim.
20 (3) The victim was being held by the defendant for
21 ransom or reward, or as a shield or hostage.
22 (4) The death of the victim occurred while defendant was
23 engaged in the hijacking of an aircraft.
24 (5) The victim was a prosecution witness to a murder or
25 other felony committed by the defendant and was killed for
26 the purpose of preventing his testimony against the defendant
27 in any grand jury or criminal proceeding involving such
28 offenses.
29 (6) The defendant committed a killing while in the
30 perpetration of a felony.
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1 (7) In the commission of the offense the defendant
2 knowingly created a grave risk of death to another person in
3 addition to the victim of the offense.
4 (8) The offense was committed by means of torture.
5 (9) The defendant has a significant history of felony
6 convictions involving the use or threat of violence to the
7 person.
8 (10) The defendant has been convicted of another Federal
9 or State offense, committed either before or at the time of
10 the offense at issue, for which a sentence of life
11 imprisonment or death was imposable or the defendant was
12 undergoing a sentence of life imprisonment for any reason at
13 the time of the commission of the offense.
14 (11) The defendant has been convicted of another murder,
15 committed in any jurisdiction and committed either before or
16 at the time of the offense at issue.
17 (12) The defendant has been convicted of voluntary
18 manslaughter, as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2503 (relating to
19 voluntary manslaughter), or a substantially equivalent crime
20 in any other jurisdiction, committed either before or at the
21 time of the offense at issue.
22 (13) The defendant committed the killing or was an
23 accomplice in the killing, as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 306(c)
24 (relating to liability for conduct of another; complicity),
25 while in the perpetration of a felony under the provisions of
26 the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as The
27 Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, and
28 punishable under the provisions of 18 Pa.C.S. § 7508
29 (relating to drug trafficking sentencing and penalties).
30 (14) At the time of the killing, the victim was or had
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1 been involved, associated or in competition with the
2 defendant in the sale, manufacture, distribution or delivery
3 of any controlled substance or counterfeit controlled
4 substance in violation of The Controlled Substance, Drug,
5 Device and Cosmetic Act or similar law of any other state,
6 the District of Columbia or the United States, and the
7 defendant committed the killing or was an accomplice to the
8 killing as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 306(c), and the killing
9 resulted from or was related to that association, involvement
10 or competition to promote the defendant's activities in
11 selling, manufacturing, distributing or delivering controlled
12 substances or counterfeit controlled substances.
13 (15) At the time of the killing, the victim was or had
14 been a nongovernmental informant or had otherwise provided
15 any investigative, law enforcement or police agency with
16 information concerning criminal activity and the defendant
17 committed the killing or was an accomplice to the killing as
18 defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 306(c), and the killing was in
19 retaliation for the victim's activities as a nongovernmental
20 informant or in providing information concerning criminal
21 activity to an investigative, law enforcement or police
22 agency.
23 (16) The victim was a child under 12 years of age.
24 * * *
25 (i) Record of death sentence to Governor.--[Where] Within 90
26 days of the date a sentence of death is upheld by the Supreme
27 Court, the prothonotary of the Supreme Court shall transmit to
28 the Governor a full and complete record of the trial, sentencing
29 hearing, imposition of sentence and review by the Supreme Court.
30 Notice of this transmission shall contemporaneously be provided
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1 to the Secretary of Corrections.
2 (j) Issuance of warrant.--
3 (1) After the receipt of the record, unless a pardon or
4 commutation has been issued, the Governor shall, within 90
5 days, issue a warrant specifying a week for execution which
6 shall be no later than 30 days after the date the warrant is
7 signed. If, because of a reprieve or a judicial stay of the
8 execution, the date of execution passes without imposition of
9 the death penalty, unless a pardon or commutation has been
10 issued, the Governor shall, within 30 days of the termination
11 of the reprieve or the judicial stay, reissue a warrant
12 specifying a week for execution which shall be no later than
13 30 days after the date of reissuance of the warrant.
14 (2) The warrant shall be directed to the Secretary of
15 Corrections commanding that the subject of the warrant be
16 executed within the week named in the warrant and in the
17 manner prescribed by law.
18 (3) If the Governor fails to timely comply with the
19 provisions of this subsection and a pardon or commutation has
20 not been issued, the Secretary of Corrections shall, within
21 30 days following the Governor's failure to comply, schedule
22 and carry out the execution no later than 60 days from the
23 date by which the Governor was required to sign the warrant
24 under paragraph (1).
25 (k) Terms of confinement.--Upon receipt of the warrant, the
26 Secretary of Corrections shall, until infliction of the death
27 penalty or until lawful discharge from custody, keep the inmate
28 in solitary confinement. During the confinement no person except
29 the staff of the Department of Corrections, the counsel of the
30 inmate and a spiritual adviser selected by the inmate, or the
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1 members of the immediate family of the inmate, shall be allowed
2 access to the inmate without an order of the sentencing court.
3 (l) Witnesses to execution.--No person except the following
4 shall witness any execution under the provisions of this
5 section:
6 (1) The superintendent of the institution where the
7 execution takes place.
8 (2) A qualified physician.
9 (3) Six reputable adult citizens selected by the
10 superintendent.
11 (4) One spiritual adviser, when requested and selected
12 by the inmate.
13 (5) Not more than six duly accredited representatives of
14 the news media.
15 (6) Such staff of the institution as may be selected by
16 the superintendent.
17 (m) Certification of superintendent.--After the execution,
18 the superintendent of the institution shall certify in writing,
19 under oath or affirmation, to the court of the county where the
20 inmate was sentenced to death, that the inmate was duly executed
21 at the place and in the manner prescribed in this section and at
22 the time designated under subsection (j). The certificate shall
23 be filed in the office of the clerk of such court.
24 (n) Postmortem examination.--Immediately after execution, a
25 postmortem examination of the body of the inmate shall be made
26 by the physician present at the execution. The superintendent
27 shall report in writing stating the nature of the examination so
28 made. This report shall be annexed to and filed with the
29 certificate required under subsection (m). After the postmortem
30 examination, unless claimed by a relative or relatives, the
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1 Department of Corrections shall be responsible for disposition
2 of the body.
3 (o) Costs of execution and examination.--The costs of the
4 execution and the postmortem examination shall be paid by the
5 Department of Corrections.
6 Section 2. The act of June 19, 1913 (P.L.528, No.338),
7 entitled "An act fixing the penalty for murder of the first
8 degree; regulating the procedure incident to the infliction
9 thereof; prescribing and providing for a place and manner of
10 inflicting said penalty on the grounds of the new Western
11 Penitentiary of this Commonwealth, in Centre County; making an
12 appropriation therefor; repealing inconsistent legislation; and
13 providing that neither this act nor said repeal shall apply to
14 any case in which it shall appear that said crime was committed
15 prior to the date of the approval of this act," is repealed.
16 Section 3. The provisions of this act are severable. If any
17 provision of this act or its application to any person or
18 circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect
19 other provisions or applications of this act which can be given
20 effect without the invalid provision or application.
21 Section 4. This act shall apply to cases in which the
22 Governor has, as of the effective date of this act, not yet
23 received the transcript of the record.
24 Section 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
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