Citations Affected:
IC 35-38-2-2.3
; IC 35-47;
IC 35-50-2-9.
Synopsis: Firearms and murder sentences. Prohibits the issuance of a
license to carry a handgun to a person who is on probation or parole.
Makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a person who is on probation or
parole to knowingly or intentionally possess a firearm. Makes the fact
that: (1) a victim of a murder was a corrections employee, probation
officer, parole officer, community corrections worker, home detention
officer, firefighter, judge, or law enforcement officer; and (2) the
murder was motivated by the victim's official status or former official
status; an aggravating circumstance when a court is considering
sentences for murder.
Effective: July 1, 2002.
January 15, 2002, read first time and referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Rural Development.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
criminal law and procedure.
or will be able to pay, and shall fix the manner of performance.
(6) Execute a repayment agreement with the appropriate
governmental entity to repay the full amount of public relief or
assistance wrongfully received, and make repayments according
to a repayment schedule set out in the agreement.
(7) Pay a fine authorized by IC 35-50.
(8) Refrain from possessing a firearm or other deadly weapon
other than a firearm unless granted written permission by the
court or the person's probation officer.
(9) Report to a probation officer at reasonable times as directed
by the court or the probation officer.
(10) Permit the person's probation officer to visit the person at
reasonable times at the person's home or elsewhere.
(11) Remain within the jurisdiction of the court, unless granted
permission to leave by the court or by the person's probation
officer.
(12) Answer all reasonable inquiries by the court or the person's
probation officer and promptly notify the court or probation
officer of any change in address or employment.
(13) Perform uncompensated work that benefits the community.
(14) Satisfy other conditions reasonably related to the person's
rehabilitation.
(15) Undergo home detention under
IC 35-38-2.5.
(16) Undergo a laboratory test or series of tests approved by the
state department of health to detect and confirm the presence of
the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigen or antibodies
to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), if:
(A) the person had been convicted of a sex crime listed in
IC 35-38-1-7.1
(e) and the crime created an epidemiologically
demonstrated risk of transmission of the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as described in
IC 35-38-1-7.1
(b)(8); or
(B) the person had been convicted of an offense related to a
controlled substance listed in
IC 35-38-1-7.1
(f) and the offense
involved the conditions described in
IC 35-38-1-7.1
(b)(9)(A).
(17) Refrain from any direct or indirect contact with an
individual.
(18) Execute a repayment agreement with the appropriate
governmental entity or with a person for reasonable costs incurred
because of the taking, detention, or return of a missing child (as
defined in
IC 10-1-7-2
).
(19) Periodically undergo a laboratory chemical test (as defined
in
IC 14-15-8-1
) or series of chemical tests as specified by the
court to detect and confirm the presence of a controlled substance
(as defined in
IC 35-48-1-9
). The person on probation is
responsible for any charges resulting from a test and shall have
the results of any test under this subdivision reported to the
person's probation officer by the laboratory.
(20) If the person was confined in a penal facility, execute a
reimbursement plan as directed by the court and make repayments
under the plan to the authority that operates the penal facility for
all or part of the costs of the person's confinement in the penal
facility. The court shall fix an amount that:
(A) may not exceed an amount the person can or will be able
to pay;
(B) does not harm the person's ability to reasonably be self
supporting or to reasonably support any dependent of the
person; and
(C) takes into consideration and gives priority to any other
restitution, reparation, repayment, or fine the person is
required to pay under this section.
(b) When a person is placed on probation, the person shall be given
a written statement specifying:
(1) the conditions of probation; and
(2) that if the person violates a condition of probation during the
probationary period, a petition to revoke probation may be filed
before the earlier of the following:
(A) One (1) year after the termination of probation.
(B) Forty-five (45) days after the state receives notice of the
violation.
(c) As a condition of probation, the court may require that the
person serve a term of imprisonment in an appropriate facility at the
time or intervals (consecutive or intermittent) within the period of
probation the court determines.
(d) Intermittent service may be required only for a term of not more
than sixty (60) days and must be served in the county or local penal
facility. The intermittent term is computed on the basis of the actual
days spent in confinement and shall be completed within one (1) year.
A person does not earn credit time while serving an intermittent term
of imprisonment under this subsection. When the court orders
intermittent service, the court shall state:
(1) the term of imprisonment;
(2) the days or parts of days during which a person is to be
confined; and
whether the applicant's residence is located within the limits of any city
or town, the applicant's occupation, place of business or employment,
criminal record, if any, and convictions (minor traffic offenses
excepted), age, race, sex, nationality, date of birth, citizenship, height,
weight, build, color of hair, color of eyes, scars and marks, whether the
applicant has previously held an Indiana license to carry a handgun
and, if so, the serial number of the license and year issued, whether the
applicant's license has ever been suspended or revoked, and if so, the
year and reason for the suspension or revocation, and the applicant's
reason for desiring a license. The officer to whom the application is
made shall conduct an investigation into the applicant's official records
and verify thereby the applicant's character and reputation, and shall in
addition verify for accuracy the information contained in the
application, and shall forward this information together with his the
officer's recommendation for approval or disapproval and one (1) set
of legible and classifiable fingerprints of the applicant to the
superintendent.
(d) The superintendent may make whatever further investigation the
superintendent deems necessary. Whenever disapproval is
recommended, the officer to whom the application is made shall
provide the superintendent and the applicant with the officer's complete
and specific reasons, in writing, for the recommendation of
disapproval.
(e) If it appears to the superintendent that the applicant has a proper
reason for carrying a handgun and is of good character and reputation
and a proper person to be so licensed, the superintendent shall issue to
the applicant a qualified or an unlimited license to carry any handgun
lawfully possessed by the applicant. The original license shall be
delivered to the licensee. A copy shall be delivered to the officer to
whom the application for license was made. A copy shall be retained
by the superintendent for at least four (4) years. This license shall be
valid for a period of four (4) years from the date of issue. The license
of police officers, sheriffs or their deputies, and law enforcement
officers of the United States government who have been honorably
retired by a lawfully created pension board or its equivalent after
twenty (20) or more years of service, shall be valid for the life of such
individuals. However, such lifetime licenses are automatically revoked
if the license holder does not remain a proper person.
(f) At the time a license is issued and delivered to a licensee under
subsection (e), the superintendent shall include with the license
information concerning handgun safety rules that:
(1) neither opposes nor supports an individual's right to bear
arms; and
(2) is:
(A) recommended by a nonprofit educational organization that
is dedicated to providing education on safe handling and use
of firearms;
(B) prepared by the state police department; and
(C) approved by the superintendent.
The superintendent may not deny a license under this section because
the information required under this subsection is unavailable at the
time the superintendent would otherwise issue a license. The state
police department may accept private donations or grants to defray the
cost of printing and mailing the information required under this
subsection.
(g) A license to carry a handgun shall not be issued to any person
who:
(1) has been convicted of a felony;
(2) is under eighteen (18) years of age;
(3) is under twenty-three (23) years of age if the person has been
adjudicated a delinquent child for an act that would be a felony if
committed by an adult; or
(4) has been arrested for a Class A or Class B felony, or any other
felony that was committed while armed with a deadly weapon or
that involved the use of violence, if a court has found probable
cause to believe that the person committed the offense charged;
or
(5) is on probation or parole for committing:
(A) a crime; or
(B) an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult.
In the case of an arrest under subdivision (4), a license to carry a
handgun may be issued to a person who has been acquitted of the
specific offense charged or if the charges for the specific offense are
dismissed. The superintendent shall prescribe all forms to be used in
connection with the administration of this chapter.
(h) If the law enforcement agency that charges a fee under
subsection (b) is a city or town law enforcement agency, the fee shall
be deposited in the law enforcement continuing education fund
established under
IC 5-2-8-2.
(i) If a person who holds a valid license to carry a handgun issued
under this chapter:
(1) changes the person's name; or
(2) changes the person's address;
the person shall, not later than sixty (60) days after the date of the
change, notify the superintendent, in writing, of the person's new name
or new address.
(j) The state police shall indicate on the form for a license to carry
a handgun the notification requirements of subsection (i).
person from testifying.
(15) The defendant committed the murder by intentionally
discharging a firearm (as defined in
IC 35-47-1-5
):
(A) into an inhabited dwelling; or
(B) from a vehicle.
(16) The victim of the murder was pregnant and the murder
resulted in the intentional killing of a fetus that has attained
viability (as defined in
IC 16-18-2-365
).
(c) The mitigating circumstances that may be considered under this
section are as follows:
(1) The defendant has no significant history of prior criminal
conduct.
(2) The defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or
emotional disturbance when the murder was committed.
(3) The victim was a participant in or consented to the defendant's
conduct.
(4) The defendant was an accomplice in a murder committed by
another person, and the defendant's participation was relatively
minor.
(5) The defendant acted under the substantial domination of
another person.
(6) The defendant's capacity to appreciate the criminality of the
defendant's conduct or to conform that conduct to the
requirements of law was substantially impaired as a result of
mental disease or defect or of intoxication.
(7) The defendant was less than eighteen (18) years of age at the
time the murder was committed.
(8) Any other circumstances appropriate for consideration.
(d) If the defendant was convicted of murder in a jury trial, the jury
shall reconvene for the sentencing hearing. If the trial was to the court,
or the judgment was entered on a guilty plea, the court alone shall
conduct the sentencing hearing. The jury or the court may consider all
the evidence introduced at the trial stage of the proceedings, together
with new evidence presented at the sentencing hearing. The court shall
instruct the jury concerning the statutory penalties for murder and any
other offenses for which the defendant was convicted, the potential for
consecutive or concurrent sentencing, and the availability of good time
credit and clemency. The defendant may present any additional
evidence relevant to:
(1) the aggravating circumstances alleged; or
(2) any of the mitigating circumstances listed in subsection (c).
(e) Except as provided by
IC 35-36-9
, if the hearing is by jury, the
jury shall recommend to the court whether the death penalty or life
imprisonment without parole, or neither, should be imposed. The jury
may recommend:
(1) the death penalty; or
(2) life imprisonment without parole;
only if it makes the findings described in subsection (k). The court shall
make the final determination of the sentence, after considering the
jury's recommendation, and the sentence shall be based on the same
standards that the jury was required to consider. The court is not bound
by the jury's recommendation. In making the final determination of the
sentence after receiving the jury's recommendation, the court may
receive evidence of the crime's impact on members of the victim's
family.
(f) If a jury is unable to agree on a sentence recommendation after
reasonable deliberations, the court shall discharge the jury and proceed
as if the hearing had been to the court alone.
(g) If the hearing is to the court alone, except as provided by
IC 35-36-9
, the court shall:
(1) sentence the defendant to death; or
(2) impose a term of life imprisonment without parole;
only if it makes the findings described in subsection (k).
(h) If a court sentences a defendant to death, the court shall order
the defendant's execution to be carried out not later than one (1) year
and one (1) day after the date the defendant was convicted. The
supreme court has exclusive jurisdiction to stay the execution of a
death sentence. If the supreme court stays the execution of a death
sentence, the supreme court shall order a new date for the defendant's
execution.
(i) If a person sentenced to death by a court files a petition for
post-conviction relief, the court, not later than ninety (90) days after the
date the petition is filed, shall set a date to hold a hearing to consider
the petition. If a court does not, within the ninety (90) day period, set
the date to hold the hearing to consider the petition, the court's failure
to set the hearing date is not a basis for additional post-conviction
relief. The attorney general shall answer the petition for post-conviction
relief on behalf of the state. At the request of the attorney general, a
prosecuting attorney shall assist the attorney general. The court shall
enter written findings of fact and conclusions of law concerning the
petition not later than ninety (90) days after the date the hearing
concludes. However, if the court determines that the petition is without
merit, the court may dismiss the petition within ninety (90) days
without conducting a hearing under this subsection.