PRINTER'S NO. 3637
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2927
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY RABB, D. MILLER, KINSEY, ZABEL, HOHENSTEIN,
HOWARD, SIMS, BRIGGS AND OTTEN, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
AN ACT
Amending Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and 42 (Judiciary and
Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes, in criminal homicide, further providing for the
offense of murder and for the offense of criminal homicide of
law enforcement officer; and, in post-trial matters, further
providing for eligibility for relief and for jurisdiction and
proceedings.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 2502(b) and 2507(b) Title 18 of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
§ 2502. Murder.
* * *
(b) Murder of the second degree.--A criminal homicide
constitutes murder of the second degree when it is committed
with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or with willful
disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the
defendant's acts will cause death or serious bodily injury while
the defendant was engaged as a principal or an accomplice in the
perpetration of a felony. A defendant's intent to cause serious
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bodily injury or to willfully disregard a substantial and
unjustifiable risk that the defendant's acts will cause death or
serious bodily injury shall not be imputed to a defendant based
solely on the defendant's intent to participate in the
underlying felony.
* * *
§ 2507. Criminal homicide of law enforcement officer.
* * *
(b) Murder of a law enforcement officer of the second
degree.--
(1) A person commits murder of a law enforcement officer
of the second degree [who engages as a principal or an
accomplice in the perpetration of a felony during which a law
enforcement officer is killed while in the performance of
duty.] when the defendant:
(i) kills a law enforcement officer while in the
performance of duty;
(ii) intends to cause serious bodily injury to the
law enforcement officer or willfully disregards a
substantial and unjustifiable risk that the defendant's
acts will cause death or serious bodily injury; and
(iii) is engaged as a principal or an accomplice in
the perpetration of a felony.
(2) A defendant's intent to cause serious bodily injury
to the law enforcement officer or to willfully disregard a
substantial and unjustifiable risk that the defendant's acts
will cause death or serious bodily injury shall not be
imputed based solely on the defendant's intent to participate
in the underlying felony.
Section 2. Section 9543(a)(2) of Title 42 is amended by
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adding a subparagraph to read:
§ 9543. Eligibility for relief.
(a) General rule.--To be eligible for relief under this
subchapter, the petitioner must plead and prove by a
preponderance of the evidence all of the following:
* * *
(2) That the conviction or sentence resulted from one or
more of the following:
* * *
(ix) The conviction of the petitioner of murder of
the first degree or murder of the second degree when the
petitioner was engaged as a principal or an accomplice in
the perpetration of a felony and the acts or omissions
for which the petitioner was convicted no longer
constitute the offense of murder.
* * *
Section 3. Section 9545(b)(1) of Title 42 is amended to
read:
§ 9545. Jurisdiction and proceedings.
* * *
(b) Time for filing petition.--
(1) Any petition under this subchapter, including a
second or subsequent petition, shall be filed within one year
of the date the judgment becomes final, unless the petition
alleges and the petitioner proves that:
(i) the failure to raise the claim previously was
the result of interference by government officials with
the presentation of the claim in violation of the
Constitution or laws of this Commonwealth or the
Constitution or laws of the United States;
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(ii) the facts upon which the claim is predicated
were unknown to the petitioner and could not have been
ascertained by the exercise of due diligence; [or]
(iii) the right asserted is a constitutional right
that was recognized by the Supreme Court of the United
States or the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania after the
time period provided in this section and has been held by
that court to apply retroactively[.]; or
(i v) the claim is predicated on a subsequent change
to the elements of the offense for which the petitioner
was convicted.
* * *
Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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