Assembly Bill No. 53–Assemblyman Carpenter

Prefiled January 22, 1999

____________

Referred to Committee on Judiciary

 

SUMMARY—Makes various changes concerning unlawful death or substantial bodily harm committed on school property or school bus. (BDR 15-127)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.

Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: Yes.

~

EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

 

AN ACT relating to crimes; providing for an increased penalty for certain felonies resulting in death or substantial bodily injury that are committed on the property of a public or private school or on a school bus; providing that murder committed on the property of a public or private school or on a school bus is first degree murder; providing that a person convicted of such a murder shall be punished by life imprisonment or death; providing that a juvenile court does not have jurisdiction over persons charged with certain felonies resulting in death or substantial bodily injury that are committed on the property of a public or private school or on a school bus; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1-1 Section 1. NRS 193.161 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2 193.161 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 and NRS

1-3 193.169, any person who commits a felony on the property of a public or

1-4 private school, at an activity sponsored by a public or private school or on a

1-5 school bus while the bus is engaged in its official duties shall be punished

1-6 by imprisonment in the state prison for a term equal to and in addition to

1-7 the term of imprisonment prescribed by statute for the crime. The sentence

1-8 prescribed by this section must run consecutively with the sentence

1-9 prescribed by statute for the crime.

1-10 2. [This section] Unless a greater penalty is provided by specific

1-11 statute and except as otherwise provided in NRS 193.169, in lieu of an

1-12 additional term of imprisonment as provided pursuant to subsection 1, if a

1-13 felony that is committed on the property of a public or private school

1-14 when pupils or employees of the school are present or may be present or

2-1 on a school bus while the bus is engaged in its official duties results in

2-2 death or substantial bodily harm to the victim, and the person who

2-3 committed the felony intended to create a great risk of death or

2-4 substantial bodily harm to more than one person by means of a weapon,

2-5 device or course of action that would normally be hazardous to the lives

2-6 of more than one person, the felony may be deemed a category A felony

2-7 and the person who committed the felony may be punished by

2-8 imprisonment in the state prison:

2-9 (a) For life without the possibility of parole;

2-10 (b) For life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole

2-11 beginning when a minimum of 20 years has been served; or

2-12 (c) For a definite term of 50 years, with eligibility for parole beginning

2-13 when a minimum of 20 years has been served.

2-14 3. Subsection 1 does not create [any] a separate offense but provides

2-15 an additional penalty for the primary offense, [whose] the imposition of

2-16 which is contingent upon the finding of the prescribed fact. Subsection 2

2-17 does not create a separate offense but provides an alternative penalty for

2-18 the primary offense, the imposition of which is contingent upon the

2-19 finding of the prescribed fact.

2-20 [3.] 4. For the purposes of this section, "school bus" has the meaning

2-21 ascribed to it in NRS 483.160.

2-22 Sec. 2. NRS 193.169 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-23 193.169 1. A person who is sentenced to an additional term of

2-24 imprisonment pursuant to the provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 193.161,

2-25 NRS 193.162, 193.163, 193.165, 193.167, 193.1675, 193.168 or 453.3345

2-26 must not be sentenced to an additional term of imprisonment pursuant to

2-27 any of the other listed sections even if the person’s conduct satisfies the

2-28 requirements for imposing an additional term of imprisonment pursuant to

2-29 another one or more of those sections.

2-30 2. A person who is sentenced to an alternative term of imprisonment

2-31 pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 193.161 must not be sentenced to an

2-32 additional term of imprisonment pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS

2-33 193.161, NRS 193.162, 193.163, 193.165, 193.167, 193.1675, 193.168 or

2-34 453.3345 even if the person’s conduct satisfies the requirements for

2-35 imposing an additional term of imprisonment pursuant to another one or

2-36 more of those sections.

2-37 3. This section does not:

2-38 (a) Affect other penalties or limitations upon probation or suspension of

2-39 a sentence contained in the sections listed in subsection 1 [.] or 2.

2-40 (b) Prohibit alleging in the alternative in the indictment or information

2-41 that the person’s conduct satisfies the requirements of more than one of the

2-42 sections listed in subsection 1 or 2 and introducing evidence to prove the

2-43 alternative allegations.

3-1 Sec. 3. NRS 200.030 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-2 200.030 1. Murder of the first degree is murder which is:

3-3 (a) Perpetrated by means of poison, lying in wait, torture or child abuse,

3-4 or by any other kind of willful, deliberate and premeditated killing;

3-5 (b) Committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of sexual

3-6 assault, kidnaping, arson, robbery, burglary, invasion of the home, sexual

3-7 abuse of a child or sexual molestation of a child under the age of 14 years;

3-8 [or]

3-9 (c) Committed to avoid or prevent the lawful arrest of any person by a

3-10 peace officer or to effect the escape of any person from legal custody [.] ;

3-11 or

3-12 (d) Committed on the property of a public or private school, at an

3-13 activity sponsored by a public or private school or on a school bus while

3-14 the bus is engaged in its official duties.

3-15 2. Murder of the second degree is all other kinds of murder.

3-16 3. The jury before whom any person indicted for murder is tried shall,

3-17 if they find him guilty thereof, designate by their verdict whether he is

3-18 guilty of murder of the first or second degree.

3-19 4. A person convicted of murder of the first degree is guilty of a

3-20 category A felony and shall be punished:

3-21 (a) By death, only if one or more aggravating circumstances are found

3-22 and any mitigating circumstance or circumstances which are found do not

3-23 outweigh the aggravating circumstance or circumstances; or

3-24 (b) By imprisonment in the state prison:

3-25 (1) For life without the possibility of parole;

3-26 (2) For life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole

3-27 beginning when a minimum of 20 years has been served; or

3-28 (3) For a definite term of 50 years, with eligibility for parole

3-29 beginning when a minimum of 20 years has been served.

3-30 A determination of whether aggravating circumstances exist is not

3-31 necessary to fix the penalty at imprisonment for life with or without the

3-32 possibility of parole.

3-33 5. A person convicted of murder of the second degree is guilty of a

3-34 category A felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state

3-35 prison:

3-36 (a) For life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole

3-37 beginning when a minimum of 10 years has been served; or

3-38 (b) For a definite term of 25 years, with eligibility for parole beginning

3-39 when a minimum of 10 years has been served.

3-40 6. As used in this section:

3-41 (a) "Child abuse" means physical injury of a nonaccidental nature to a

3-42 child under the age of 18 years;

3-43 (b) "School bus" has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 483.160;

4-1 (c) "Sexual abuse of a child" means any of the acts described in NRS

4-2 432B.100; and

4-3 [(c)] (d) "Sexual molestation" means any willful and lewd or lascivious

4-4 act, other than acts constituting the crime of sexual assault, upon or with the

4-5 body, or any part or member thereof, of a child under the age of 14 years,

4-6 with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions or

4-7 sexual desires of the perpetrator or of the child.

4-8 Sec. 4. NRS 200.033 is hereby amended to read as follows:

4-9 200.033 The only circumstances by which murder of the first degree

4-10 may be aggravated are:

4-11 1. The murder was committed by a person under sentence of

4-12 imprisonment.

4-13 2. The murder was committed by a person who, at any time before a

4-14 penalty hearing is conducted for the murder pursuant to NRS 175.552, is or

4-15 has been convicted of:

4-16 (a) Another murder and the provisions of subsection 12 do not otherwise

4-17 apply to that other murder; or

4-18 (b) A felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person of

4-19 another and the provisions of subsection 4 do not otherwise apply to that

4-20 felony.

4-21 For the purposes of this subsection, a person shall be deemed to have been

4-22 convicted at the time the jury verdict of guilt is rendered or upon

4-23 pronouncement of guilt by a judge or judges sitting without a jury.

4-24 3. The murder was committed by a person who knowingly created a

4-25 great risk of death to more than one person by means of a weapon, device

4-26 or course of action which would normally be hazardous to the lives of more

4-27 than one person.

4-28 4. The murder was committed while the person was engaged, alone or

4-29 with others, in the commission of or an attempt to commit or flight after

4-30 committing or attempting to commit, any robbery, arson in the first degree,

4-31 burglary, invasion of the home or kidnaping in the first degree, and the

4-32 person charged:

4-33 (a) Killed or attempted to kill the person murdered; or

4-34 (b) Knew or had reason to know that life would be taken or lethal force

4-35 used.

4-36 5. The murder was committed to avoid or prevent a lawful arrest or to

4-37 effect an escape from custody.

4-38 6. The murder was committed by a person, for himself or another, to

4-39 receive money or any other thing of monetary value.

4-40 7. The murder was committed upon a peace officer or fireman who was

4-41 killed while engaged in the performance of his official duty or because of

4-42 an act performed in his official capacity, and the defendant knew or

5-1 reasonably should have known that the victim was a peace officer or

5-2 fireman. For the purposes of this subsection, "peace officer" means:

5-3 (a) An employee of the department of prisons who does not exercise

5-4 general control over offenders imprisoned within the institutions and

5-5 facilities of the department but whose normal duties require him to come

5-6 into contact with those offenders, when carrying out the duties prescribed

5-7 by the director of the department.

5-8 (b) Any person upon whom some or all of the powers of a peace officer

5-9 are conferred pursuant to NRS 289.150 to 289.360, inclusive, when

5-10 carrying out those powers.

5-11 8. The murder involved torture or the mutilation of the victim.

5-12 9. The murder was committed upon one or more persons at random and

5-13 without apparent motive.

5-14 10. The murder was committed upon a person less than 14 years of

5-15 age.

5-16 11. The murder was committed upon a person because of the actual or

5-17 perceived race, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability

5-18 or sexual orientation of that person.

5-19 12. The defendant has, in the immediate proceeding, been convicted of

5-20 more than one offense of murder in the first or second degree. For the

5-21 purposes of this subsection, a person shall be deemed to have been

5-22 convicted of a murder at the time the jury verdict of guilt is rendered or

5-23 upon pronouncement of guilt by a judge or judges sitting without a jury.

5-24 13. The person, alone or with others, subjected or attempted to subject

5-25 the victim of the murder to nonconsensual sexual penetration immediately

5-26 before, during or immediately after the commission of the murder. For the

5-27 purposes of this subsection:

5-28 (a) "Nonconsensual" means against the victim’s will or under conditions

5-29 in which the person knows or reasonably should know that the victim is

5-30 mentally or physically incapable of resisting, consenting or understanding

5-31 the nature of his conduct, including, but not limited to, conditions in which

5-32 the person knows or reasonably should know that the victim is dead.

5-33 (b) "Sexual penetration" means cunnilingus, fellatio or any intrusion,

5-34 however slight, of any part of the victim’s body or any object manipulated

5-35 or inserted by a person, alone or with others, into the genital or anal

5-36 openings of the body of the victim, whether or not the victim is alive. The

5-37 term includes, but is not limited to, anal intercourse and sexual intercourse

5-38 in what would be its ordinary meaning.

5-39 14. The murder was committed on the property of a public or private

5-40 school, at an activity sponsored by a public or private school or on a

5-41 school bus while the bus was engaged in its official duties. For the

5-42 purposes of this subsection, "school bus" has the meaning ascribed to it

5-43 in NRS 483.160.

6-1 Sec. 5. NRS 62.040 is hereby amended to read as follows:

6-2 62.040 1. Except if the child involved is subject to the exclusive

6-3 jurisdiction of an Indian tribe, and except as otherwise provided in this

6-4 chapter, the court has exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings:

6-5 (a) Concerning any child living or found within the county who is in

6-6 need of supervision because he:

6-7 (1) Is a child who is subject to compulsory school attendance and is a

6-8 habitual truant from school;

6-9 (2) Habitually disobeys the reasonable and lawful demands of his

6-10 parents, guardian or other custodian, and is unmanageable; or

6-11 (3) Deserts, abandons or runs away from his home or usual place of

6-12 abode,

6-13 and is in need of care or rehabilitation. The child must not be considered a

6-14 delinquent.

6-15 (b) Concerning any child living or found within the county who has

6-16 committed a delinquent act. A child commits a delinquent act if he violates

6-17 a county or municipal ordinance or any rule or regulation having the force

6-18 of law, or he commits an act designated a crime under the law of the State

6-19 of Nevada.

6-20 (c) Concerning any child in need of commitment to an institution for the

6-21 mentally retarded.

6-22 2. For the purposes of subsection 1, each of the following acts shall be

6-23 deemed not to be a delinquent act, and the court does not have jurisdiction

6-24 of a person who is charged with committing such an act:

6-25 (a) Murder or attempted murder and any other related offense arising out

6-26 of the same facts as the murder or attempted murder, regardless of the

6-27 nature of the related offense.

6-28 (b) Sexual assault or attempted sexual assault involving the use or

6-29 threatened use of force or violence against the victim and any other related

6-30 offense arising out of the same facts as the sexual assault or attempted

6-31 sexual assault, regardless of the nature of the related offense, if:

6-32 (1) The person was 16 years of age or older when the sexual assault or

6-33 attempted sexual assault was committed; and

6-34 (2) Before the sexual assault or attempted sexual assault was

6-35 committed, the person previously had been adjudicated delinquent for an

6-36 act that would have been a felony if committed by an adult.

6-37 (c) An offense or attempted offense involving the use or threatened use

6-38 of a firearm and any other related offense arising out of the same facts as

6-39 the offense or attempted offense involving the use or threatened use of a

6-40 firearm, regardless of the nature of the related offense, if:

6-41 (1) The person was 16 years of age or older when the offense or

6-42 attempted offense involving the use or threatened use of a firearm was

6-43 committed; and

7-1 (2) Before the offense or attempted offense involving the use or

7-2 threatened use of a firearm was committed, the person previously had been

7-3 adjudicated delinquent for an act that would have been a felony if

7-4 committed by an adult.

7-5 (d) A felony that results in death or substantial bodily harm to the

7-6 victim which is committed on the property of a public or private school

7-7 when pupils or employees of the school are present or may be present or

7-8 on a school bus while the bus is engaged in its official duties if the person

7-9 who committed the felony intended to create a great risk of death or

7-10 substantial bodily harm to more than one person by means of a weapon,

7-11 device or course of action that would normally be hazardous to the lives

7-12 of more than one person. For the purposes of this paragraph, "school

7-13 bus" has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 483.160.

7-14 (e) Any other offense if, before the offense was committed, the person

7-15 previously had been convicted of a criminal offense.

7-16 3. If a child is charged with a minor traffic offense, the court may

7-17 transfer the case and record to a justice’s or municipal court if the judge

7-18 determines that it is in the best interest of the child. If a case is so

7-19 transferred:

7-20 (a) The restrictions set forth in subsection 4 of NRS 62.170 are

7-21 applicable in those proceedings; and

7-22 (b) The child must be accompanied at all proceedings by a parent or

7-23 legal guardian.

7-24 With the consent of the judge of the juvenile division, the case may be

7-25 transferred back to the juvenile court.

7-26 Sec. 6. The amendatory provisions of this act do not apply to offenses

7-27 which are committed before October 1, 1999.

~