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S1033................................................by JUDICIARY AND RULES
MURDER - Amends existing law relating to murder to provide that murder
committed in the unlawful discharge of a firearm at certain occupied or
inhabited buildings or vehicles is murder of the first degree.
01/18 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/19 Rpt prt - to Jud
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-ninth Legislature First Regular Session - 2007
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1033
BY JUDICIARY AND RULES COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO MURDER; AMENDING SECTION 18-4003, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT MUR-
3 DER COMMITTED IN THE UNLAWFUL DISCHARGE OF A FIREARM AT CERTAIN OCCUPIED
4 OR INHABITED BUILDINGS OR VEHICLES IS MURDER OF THE FIRST DEGREE.
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
6 SECTION 1. That Section 18-4003, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7 amended to read as follows:
8 18-4003. DEGREES OF MURDER. (a) All murder which is perpetrated by means
9 of poison, or lying in wait, or torture, when torture is inflicted with the
10 intent to cause suffering, to execute vengeance, to extort something from the
11 victim, or to satisfy some sadistic inclination, or which is perpetrated by
12 any kind of willful, deliberate and premeditated killing is murder of the
13 first degree.
14 (b) Any murder of any peace officer, executive officer, officer of the
15 court, fireman, judicial officer or prosecuting attorney who was acting in the
16 lawful discharge of an official duty, and was known or should have been known
17 by the perpetrator of the murder to be an officer so acting, shall be murder
18 of the first degree.
19 (c) Any murder committed by a person under a sentence for murder of the
20 first or second degree, including such persons on parole or probation from
21 such sentence, shall be murder of the first degree.
22 (d) Any murder committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpe-
23 trate, aggravated battery on a child under twelve (12) years of age, arson,
24 rape, robbery, burglary, kidnapping or mayhem, or an act of terrorism, as
25 defined in section 18-8102, Idaho Code, or the use of a weapon of mass
26 destruction, biological weapon or chemical weapon, or the unlawful discharge
27 of a firearm as set forth in section 18-3317, Idaho Code, is murder of the
28 first degree.
29 (e) Any murder committed by a person incarcerated in a penal institution
30 upon a person employed by the penal institution, another inmate of the penal
31 institution or a visitor to the penal institution shall be murder of the first
32 degree.
33 (f) Any murder committed by a person while escaping or attempting to
34 escape from a penal institution is murder of the first degree.
35 (g) All other kinds of murder are of the second degree.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 16667
The purpose of this legislation is to amend the offenses
listed in Idaho's current "felony murder rule" to add the crime
of unlawful discharge of a firearm as provided in Idaho Code 18-
3317. Idaho Code 18-4003(d) is commonly called the "felony
murder rule." This section now states that any murder committed
in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate the following
felonies is first-degree murder; aggravated battery on a child
under twelve (12) years of age, arson, rape, robbery, burglary,
kidnaping or mayhem, or an act of terrorism or the use of a
weapon of mass destruction. The proposed change would add
murders committed during "drive-by-shootings" to the list.
Generally, in order to prove first-degree murder, the state
must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the killing of a human
being occurred with malice aforethought, which is the specific
intent to kill. Under the felony murder rule, the fact the
homicide occurred during the commission of one of the listed
felonies supplies the malice element for a murder conviction.
The intent to commit the felony substitutes for the malice
aforethought requirement.
The crime of unlawful discharge of a firearm or as it is
commonly called; "a drive-by-shooting" is extremely dangerous.
Any person who intentionally and unlawfully shoots a firearm into
an inhabited dwelling house or occupied motor vehicle and kills
another person must be held to the highest level of
accountability for that murder. As it now stands, a defendant
who kills a person during a drive-by-shooting can argue that he
should not be convicted of murder because he did not have the
specific intent to kill. This legislation would close that
loophole.
FISCAL NOTE
The fiscal impact is difficult to determine with certainty,
as it will depend on the increased number of offenders who are
convicted of first-degree murder, if any, under this statute.
The potential impact to the general fund would be equal to the
cost of imprisoning the additional number of offenders charged,
convicted and sentenced as a result of this amendment.
Contact
Name: Heather Reilly, Idaho Prosecuting Attorney's Association
Phone: 208-287-7700
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1033