SB 218: "An Act relating to the crime of murder and to murder of children."
00SENATE BILL NO. 218 01 "An Act relating to the crime of murder and to murder of children." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 11.41.100(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) A person commits the crime of murder in the first degree if 05 (1) with intent to cause the death of another person, the person 06 (A) causes the death of any person; or 07 (B) compels or induces any person to commit suicide through 08 duress or deception; [OR] 09 (2) the person knowingly [ENGAGES, UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES 10 MANIFESTING EXTREME INDIFFERENCE TO THE VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE, 11 IN A PATTERN OR PRACTICE OF ASSAULT OR TORTURE OF A CHILD 12 UNDER THE AGE OF 16, AND ONE OF THE ACTS OF ASSAULT OR TORTURE 13 RESULTS IN THE DEATH OF THE CHILD; FOR PURPOSES OF THIS 14 PARAGRAPH, A PERSON "ENGAGES IN A PATTERN OR PRACTICE OF
01 ASSAULT OR TORTURE" IF THE PERSON] inflicts serious physical injury on a 02 child under 16 years of age by at least two separate acts, and one of the acts results 03 in the death of the child ; or 04 (3) acting alone or with one or more persons, the person commits 05 or attempts to commit a sexual offense or kidnapping against a child under 16 06 years of age and, in the course of or in furtherance of the offense or in immediate 07 flight from that offense, any person causes the death of the child; in this 08 paragraph, "sexual offense" means an offense defined in AS 11.41.410 - 11.41.470 . 09 * Sec. 2. AS 11.41.110(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) A person commits the crime of murder in the second degree if 11 (1) with intent to cause serious physical injury to another person or 12 knowing that the conduct is substantially certain to cause death or serious physical 13 injury to another person, the person causes the death of any person; 14 (2) the person knowingly engages in conduct that results in the death 15 of another person under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value 16 of human life; 17 (3) under circumstances not amounting to murder in the first 18 degree under AS 11.41.110(a)(3), while acting either alone or with one or more 19 persons, the person commits or attempts to commit arson in the first degree, 20 kidnapping, sexual assault in the first degree, sexual assault in the second degree, 21 sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree, sexual abuse of a minor in the second 22 degree, burglary in the first degree, escape in the first or second degree, robbery in 23 any degree, or misconduct involving a controlled substance under AS 11.71.010(a), 24 11.71.020(a), 11.71.030(a)(1) or (2), or 11.71.040(a)(1) or (2) and, in the course of or 25 in furtherance of that crime [,] or in immediate flight from that crime, any person 26 causes the death of a person other than one of the participants; or 27 (4) acting with a criminal street gang, the person commits or attempts 28 to commit a crime that is a felony and, in the course of or in furtherance of that crime 29 or in immediate flight from that crime, any person causes the death of a person other 30 than one of the participants. 31 * Sec. 3. AS 12.55.125(b) is amended to read:
01 (b) A defendant convicted of murder in the second degree, attempted murder 02 in the first degree, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, kidnapping, or 03 misconduct involving a controlled substance in the first degree shall be sentenced to 04 a definite term of imprisonment of at least five years but not more than 99 years. A 05 defendant convicted of murder in the second degree shall be sentenced to a 06 definite term of imprisonment of at least 20 years but not more than 99 years 07 when the defendant is convicted of the murder of a child under 16 years of age 08 and the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant caused 09 the death of the child (1) by the neglect of a duty of care that the defendant owed 10 to the child as a legal guardian or as a person occupying a position of authority 11 in relation to the child; or (2) by an assault. In this subsection, "legal guardian" 12 and "position of authority" have the meanings given in AS 11.41.470. 13 * Sec. 4. This Act applies to offenses committed on or after the effective date of this Act.