05 LC 19
6522
House
Bill 607
By:
Representatives Stephenson of the
92nd,
Morgan of the
39th,
Mosby of the
90th,
Williams of the
89th,
Brooks of the
63rd,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Code Section 17-10-6.1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to punishment for serious violent offenders, so as to eliminate the mandatory
minimum punishment for certain persons convicted of certain serious violent
offenses; to provide for a definition; to provide for related matters; to
provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Code
Section 17-10-6.1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
punishment for serious violent offenders, is amended by striking said Code
section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"17-10-6.1.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term 'serious violent felony'
means:
(1)
Murder or felony murder, as defined in Code Section 16-5-1;
(2)
Armed robbery, as defined in Code Section 16-8-41;
(3)
Kidnapping, as defined in Code Section 16-5-40;
(4)
Rape, as defined in Code Section 16-6-1;
(5)
Aggravated child molestation, as defined in Code Section 16-6-4;
(6)
Aggravated sodomy, as defined in Code Section 16-6-2; or
(7)
Aggravated sexual battery, as defined in Code Section 16-6-22.2.
(b)
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, any person
who is 18
years of age or older at the time of arrest and who is
subsequently convicted of a serious
violent felony as defined in paragraphs (2) through (7) of subsection (a) of
this Code section shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment
of ten years and no portion of the mandatory minimum sentence imposed shall be
suspended, stayed, probated, deferred, or withheld by the sentencing court and
shall not be reduced by any form of pardon, parole, or commutation of sentence
by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. No person convicted of a serious
violent felony as defined in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be
sentenced as a first offender pursuant to Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 42,
relating to probation for first offenders, or any other provision of Georgia law
relating to the sentencing of first offenders. The State of Georgia shall have
the right to appeal any sentence which is imposed by the superior court which
does not conform to the provisions of this subsection in the same manner as is
provided for other appeals by the state in accordance with Chapter 7 of Title 5,
relating to appeals or certiorari by the state.
(c)(1)
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of Code Section 42-9-39, for a
first conviction of a serious violent felony in which the defendant has been
sentenced to life imprisonment, that person shall not be eligible for any form
of parole or early release administered by the State Board of Pardons and
Paroles until that person has served a minimum of 14 years in prison. The
minimum term of imprisonment shall not be reduced by any earned time, early
release, work release, leave, or other sentence-reducing measures under programs
administered by the Department of Corrections.
(2)
For a first conviction of a serious violent felony in which the defendant has
been sentenced to death but the sentence of death has been commuted to life
imprisonment, that person shall not be eligible for any form of parole or early
release administered by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles until that person
has served a minimum of 25 years in prison. The minimum term of imprisonment
shall not be reduced by any earned time, early release, work release, leave, or
other sentence-reducing measures under programs administered by the Department
of Corrections.
(3)
Any sentence imposed for the first conviction of any serious violent felony
other than a sentence of life imprisonment or life without parole or death shall
be served in its entirety as imposed by the sentencing court and shall not be
reduced by any form of parole or early release administered by the State Board
of Pardons and Paroles or by any earned time, early release, work release,
leave, or other sentence-reducing measures under programs administered by the
Department of Corrections, the effect of which would be to reduce the period of
incarceration ordered by the sentencing court.
(d)
For purposes of this Code section, a first conviction of any serious violent
felony means that the person has never been convicted of a serious violent
felony under the laws of this state or of an offense under the laws of any other
state or of the United States, which offense if committed in this state would be
a serious violent felony. Conviction of two or more crimes charged on separate
counts of one indictment or accusation, or in two or more indictments or
accusations consolidated for trial, shall be deemed to be only one
conviction.
(e)
Any person who is younger than 18 years of age at the time of arrest for a
serious violent felony as defined in paragraphs (2) through (7) of subsection
(a) of this Code section and who is subsequently convicted therefor shall not be
sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of
imprisonment."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval and shall apply to any person who is
sentenced after the effective date of this Act for a serious violent felony as
defined in Code Section 17-10-6.1.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.