A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
an act to direct the sentencing commission to study and make recommendations regarding evidence that a murder was committed in violation of a valid domestic violence protective order as an aggravating factor in capital sentencing.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission, pursuant to its statutory responsibilities under Article 4 of Chapter 164 of the General Statutes, shall study aggravating factors which may be considered in capital felony sentencing pursuant to G.S. 15A‑2000(e). In particular, the Commission shall examine the question of whether the State's capital sentencing law should include as an aggravating factor that the capital felony was committed at a time when the defendant knew the behavior was prohibited by a valid protective order entered pursuant to Chapter 50B of the General Statutes of North Carolina, or by a valid protective order entered by the courts of another state or the courts of an Indian tribe. The Commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the 2005 General Assembly not later than May 1, 2006. The report shall describe the Commission's deliberations and shall include any policy recommendations and proposed legislation.
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.