02/21/1997 09:03 AM Senate HES

 SENATE BILL NO. 66                                                            
 "An Act relating to the collection by victims of restitution from             
 prisoners; relating to the definition of `serious provocation' as             
 a defense to murder; relating to the definition of `incapacitated'            
 for sexual offenses; creating the crime of interfering with a                 
 report of a crime involving domestic violence; relating to the                
 safety of victims, other persons, and the community in setting bail           
 or conditions of release; relating to mental examinations of                  
 victims in criminal prosecutions; relating to the rights of victims           
 of crimes under AS 12.61; relating to access to certain records of            
 the Violent Crimes Compensation Board; relating to medical death              
 investigations; amending Alaska Rules of Criminal Procedure 5 and             
 6, Alaska Rules of Evidence 404 and 615, and Alaska Delinquency               
 Rule 3; and providing for an effective date."                                 
                                                                               
  -SCHEDULED, BUT NOT HEARD                                                    
                                                                               
                 SB  66 CRIMES & CRIME VICTIMS                                
                                                                              
   CHAIRMAN WILKEN  introduced  SB 66  as the final order of business          
 before the committee.                                                         
                                                                               
  MS. CARPENETI,  Criminal Division, Department of Law, said in 1994           
 voters of Alaska overwhelmingly adopted the victims rights                    
 amendments, Article 1, Section 24 of our Constitution.  It is very            
 specific in setting forth criminal rights and procedures.  It also            
 sets forth rights of victims of crime.  Since that time the                   
 Criminal Division has learned of instances where rights guaranteed            
 in that particular provision have not been uniformly applied to               
 victims in Alaska.  So the Governor's office started an                       
 investigation that resulted with SB 66.                                       
                                                                               
 Ms. Carpeneti said one provision that a number of victims are                 
 concerned with is the right to be present at every preceding where            
 a juvenile delinquent or a criminal defendant has a right to be               
 present.  One of the rationales for the denial is the fact that               
 courts say it should be defined in law which this bill does.  In              
 terms of the right to restitution, it adopts an amendment to our              
 civil statutes dealing with when a person can levy on an order of             
 restitution to allow a victim to levy on assets held by a criminal            
 defendant outside the criminal institution.  At present the law               
 allows a victim to levy on an account held by a prisoner inside an            
 institution, but not outside.                                                 
                                                                               
 Section 6 of the bill amends the definition of serious provocation            
 for purpose of the heat-of-passion defense to murder in the first             
 degree and murder in the second degree.  The heat-of-passion                  
 defense usually allows a charge of murder in the first and second             
 degree to be reduced to manslaughter.  There have been a few                  
 instances where courts allow an instruction in a criminal trial               
 allowing an imperfect or mistaken belief in the need for self                 
 defense to be considered serious provocation and then allowing the            
 jury to consider it as a heat-of-passion defense.  In 1980 the law            
 was amended to disallow that possibility.  The defense of self                
 defense when it's a reasonable defense is a complete defense to               
 murder if that can be established.  A mistaken belief in the need             
 for self defense is not a defense to a homicide and should not be             
 allowed in through the back door as being considered serious                  
 provocation.                                                                  
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN WILKEN  interrupted Ms. Carpeneti saying he wanted the              
 entire committee to hear what she had to say and asked her if she             
 could come back Monday.  Ms. Carpeneti agreed.