HB 162-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2011 SESSION
04/01
HOUSE BILL 162-FN
AN ACT relative to capital murder for purposely causing the death of another.
SPONSORS: Rep. Greazzo, Hills 17
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill provides that a person is guilty of capital murder if such person purposely causes the death of another.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0328
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT relative to capital murder for purposely causing the death of another.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Capital Murder. Amend RSA 630:1 by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraph:
I-a. A person is guilty of capital murder if such person purposely causes the death of another.
2 First Degree Murder. Amend RSA 630:1-a to read as follows:
630:1-a First Degree Murder.
I. A person is guilty of murder in the first degree if he or she[:
(a) Purposely causes the death of another; or
(b)] Knowingly causes the death of:
[(1)] (a) Another before, after, while engaged in the commission of, or while attempting to commit felonious sexual assault as defined in RSA 632-A:3;
[(2)] (b) Another before, after, while engaged in the commission of, or while attempting to commit robbery or burglary while armed with a deadly weapon, the death being caused by the use of such weapon;
[(3)] (c) Another in perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate arson as defined in RSA 634:1, I, II, or III;
[(4)] (d) The president or president-elect or vice-president or vice-president-elect of the United States, the governor or governor-elect of New Hampshire or any state or any member or member-elect of the congress of the United States, or any candidate for such office after such candidate has been nominated at his party’s primary, when such killing is motivated by knowledge of the foregoing capacity of the victim.
II. [For the purpose of RSA 630:1-a, I(a), “purposely” shall mean that the actor’s conscious object is the death of another, and that his act or acts in furtherance of that object were deliberate and premeditated.
III.] A person convicted of a murder in the first degree shall be sentenced to life imprisonment and shall not be eligible for parole at any time.
3 Involuntary Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators; Definitions Amended. Amend RSA 135-E:2, XI(b) to read as follows:
(b) First degree murder in violation of RSA 630:1-a, [I(b)(1)] I(a);
4 Registration of Criminal Offenders; Definitions Amended. Amend RSA 651-B:1, V(a) to read as follows:
(a) Capital murder, RSA 630:1, I(e); first degree murder, RSA 630:1-a, [I(b)(1)] I(a); aggravated felonious sexual assault, RSA 632-A:2; felonious sexual assault, 632-A:3; sexual assault, 632-A:4, I(a) or RSA 632-A:4, III; violation of privacy, RSA 644:9, I(a) or RSA 644:9, III-a; or a second or subsequent offense within a 5-year period for indecent exposure and lewdness, RSA 645:1, I.
5 Registration of Criminal Offenders; Definitions Amended. Amend RSA 651-B:1, VII(a) to read as follows:
(a) Any of the following offenses, where the victim was under the age of 18 at the time of the offense: capital murder, RSA 630:1, I(e); first degree murder, RSA 630:1-a, [1(b)(1)] I(a); aggravated felonious sexual assault, RSA 632-A:2; felonious sexual assault, RSA 632-A:3; sexual assault, RSA 632-A:4, I(a) or RSA 632-A:4, III; kidnapping, RSA 633:1; criminal restraint, RSA 633:2; false imprisonment, RSA 633:3; incest, RSA 639:2; violation of privacy, RSA 644:9, I(a) or RSA 644:9, III-a; a second or subsequent offense within a 5-year period for indecent exposure and lewdness, RSA 645:1, I; indecent exposure and lewdness, RSA 645:1, II and RSA 645:1, III; or prostitution, RSA 645:2.
6 Registration of Criminal Offenders; Definitions Amended. Amend RSA 651-B:1, X(a) to read as follows:
(a) RSA 630:1, I(e), RSA 630:1-a, [I(b)(1)] I(a), RSA 632-A:2, RSA 632-A:3, III, RSA 632-A:3, IV if the victim was under the age of 13, RSA 633:1; or RSA 639:2.
7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2012.
LBAO
11-0328
01/07/11
HB 162-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to capital murder for purposely causing the death of another.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, the Judicial Council, the Department of Justice, the Department of Corrections, and the New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill may increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2012 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill will increase the level of offense for purposely causing the death of another from first degree murder to capital murder. The Branch states there are several first degree murder cases prosecuted in the courts each year. The Branch states a first degree murder case is treated as an average complex felony case which costs $753.36 in FY 2012 and $759.71 in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. The Branch states that a capital murder case is also treated as an average complex felony case, however capital murder cases are expensive due to having more hearings because of more issues, the addition of a penalty phase to the trial, the need for increased security and the prospect of multiple appeals on the issues raised. The Branch is not able to determine the number of capital murder cases or cost of such cases to determine the fiscal impact of this bill.
The Judicial Council states this bill may result in an indeterminable increase in state general fund expenditures. The Council states this bill will potentially expand the number of capital murder cases, typically the most costly cases in the criminal justice system. If the public defender does not have a conflict of interest and is able to represent the case, they would be paid a flat fee of $20,000. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60 with a fee cap of $20,000 for homicide cases will apply. The fee cap is readily increased by the Court. Finally, expenditures would increase if services other than counsel are requested and approved by the court during the defense of a case or during an appeal. The Council states the cost to defend a capital murder case can easily exceed $1 million.
The Department of Justice states this bill will increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2012 and each year thereafter. The Department states capital murder cases are
LBAO
11-0328
01/07/11
more expensive to prosecute because of the potential death sentence. The Department cites two cases it has recently prosecuted where costs have exceeded $1.7 million for each case, not including the cost of appellate or post-conviction litigation. The Department states there were 8 murders in 2008, 10 murders in 2009, and 5 murders in 2010 that would have likely been charged as capital murders.
The Department of Corrections states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 was $32,492. The cost to supervise an individual by the Department’s division of field services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 was $659. The Department states this bill may increase expenditures by an indeterminable amount, but is unable to predict the number of individuals that might be impacted.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states to the extent an individual is charged with the new law and detained pre-trial in a county correctional facility or an individual is prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to incarceration, the counties may have increased expenditures. The Association is unable to determine the number of individuals who might be detained or incarcerated as a result of this bill. The average cost to incarcerate an individual in a county facility is $35,000 a year.