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PRINTER'S NO. 149
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
181
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY KOSIEROWSKI, SANCHEZ, HILL-EVANS, GALLOWAY,
CONKLIN, FREEMAN, SCHLOSSBERG, HOWARD AND ISAACSON,
JANUARY 15, 2021
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JANUARY 15, 2021
AN ACT
Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in governance of the
system, providing for criminal prosecutions involving
domestic violence survivors; and, in post-trial matters,
providing for post conviction relief for domestic violence
survivors.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
§ 1726.3. Criminal prosecutions involving domestic violence
survivors.
(a) General rule.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law and except as provided under subsection (b), in any criminal
prosecution of an offense committed by a domestic violence
survivor, a court shall take into account the domestic
survivor's history of domestic violence victimization at the
time of the offense and how much the domestic violence
victimization affected the participation in the offense. If the
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court finds that the domestic violence survivor's participation
in the offense was related to the domestic violence abuse
endured by the survivor before or until the time of the offense,
the court may consider that finding as a mitigating factor and
impose any of the following:
(1) A sentence that is more lenient than specified in
the sentencing guidelines adopted by the Pennsylvania
Commission on Sentencing.
(2) A sentence that does not include incarceration.
(b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to the
criminal prosecution of any of the following:
(1) An offense under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2502(a) or (b)
(relating to murder).
(2) Any sexual offense.
Section 2. Chapter 95 of Title 42 is amended by adding a
subchapter to read:
SUBCHAPTER B.1
POST CONVICTION RELIEF FOR
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS
Sec.
9551. Scope of subchapter.
9552. Eligibility for relief.
9553. Post conviction appeal requests.
§ 9551. Scope of subchapter.
This subchapter provides for an action by which a person who
is a domestic violence survivor at the time the person committed
a crime may seek collateral relief from the person's conviction
or sentence based on evidence that the domestic violence endured
by the person substantially affected the person's participation
in the crime .
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§ 9552. Eligibility for relief.
(a) General rule.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law and except as provided under subsection (b), to be eligible
for relief under this subchapter, the petitioner must plead and
prove by preponderance of the evidence all of the following:
(1) That the petitioner has been convicted of a crime
under the laws of this Commonwealth and is at the time relief
is granted:
(i) currently serving a sentence of imprisonment,
probation or parole for the crime; or
(ii) waiting execution of a sentence of death for
the crime.
(2) That the conviction or sentence resulted from the
following:
(i) Domestic violence endured by the petitioner at
the time the person committed the crime that
substantially affected the person's participation in the
crime.
(ii) The failure of the court to take into account
the impact of domestic violence on the commitment of the
crime by the petitioner.
(3) That the petitioner is currently serving a sentence
of at least one year.
(b) Exception.--A person who has been convicted of any of
the following crimes shall not be eligible for relief under this
subchapter:
(1) An offense under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2502(a) or (b)
(relating to murder).
(2) Any sexual offense.
§ 9553. Post conviction appeal requests.
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(a) Petitions.-- A person seeking relief under this
subchapter must file a petition with the court no later than
five years after the person is convicted of the crime with the
evidence required under section 9552 (relating to eligibility
for relief).
(b) Crimes of violence.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a crime of
violence, as defined in section 9714(g) (relating to sentences
for second and subsequent offenses), or an inculpatory statement
by the petitioner concerning the crime for which the petitioner
was convicted, shall not prohibit the petitioner from seeking
relief under this subchapter.
(c) Relief.--If the court finds that the petitioner provided
the evidence required under section 9552, the court may take any
of the following actions:
(1) Resentence the petitioner.
(2) Impose a sentence that is more lenient than
specified in the sentencing guidelines adopted by the
Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing.
(3) Impose a s entence that does not include additional
incarceration.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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