ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 373

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 7, 2016

      The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 373.

     P.L.1997, c.60, known as “Joan’s Law,” amended various sections of law including N.J.S.2C:11-3, the murder statute, to provide that a person convicted of the murder of a child under the age of 14 must be sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole if the murder was committed in the course of the commission of a sex crime.  This bill would raise the age limitation for “Joan’s Law,” encompassing situations where the victim was less than 18 years old. Thus, under the bill, a person convicted of the murder of a victim under the age of 18 must be sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole if the murder was committed in the course of the commission of a sex crime.

The bill’s change to “Joan’s Law,” which is set out in paragraph (3) of subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:11-3, would not affect the mandatory life sentences imposed on persons convicted of certain other murders, as set out in paragraphs (2) and (4) of that subsection.

     Murder is a crime of the first degree and is generally punishable by a term of imprisonment of 30 years, during which the defendant is not eligible for parole, or by a specific term between 30 years and life imprisonment of which the defendant must serve 30 years before being eligible for parole.  However, there are exceptions to this statutory scheme for certain murders.  Defendants convicted of these particular murders must be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole. 

     “Joan’s Law” was prompted by the 1973 killing of Joan D’Alessandro, a 7-year-old in Hillsdale who had been selling Girl Scout cookies. Her neighbor, Joseph McGowan, lured her to his home, then raped and murdered her.

     The committee amended the bill to delete the provision in current law that imposes a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole for juveniles tried as adults and convicted of certain murders, including murders pursuant to “Joan’s Law.”  This amendment is in accordance with the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012) that mandatory sentencing of juveniles to life without parole violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

     Under the amendments, a juvenile who is tried as an adult and convicted of murder shall be sentenced by the court to a term of 30 years, during which the person shall not be eligible for parole, or be sentenced to a specific term of years which shall be between 30 years and life imprisonment of which the person shall serve 30 years before being eligible for parole.

      This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2016-2017 session pending technical review.  As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

     Amend paragraph (5) of subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:11-3 to delete language in current law that requires a juvenile who has been tried as an adult and convicted of murder to be sentenced pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of subsection b.  As amended, such juveniles may be sentenced only pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection b.