News from the Senate Majority
Alaska State Legislature

Wendy Lindskoog, Senate Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Phone: 907/465-4582
http://www.akrepublicans.org
Broadcast Actualities: 800/478-6540

Senate Endorses Stronger Punishment for Murderers of Children

Builds Better Safety Net for Children

For Immediate Release: April 6, 1998 Contact: Senator Rick Halford, at (907) 465-4958.

Juneau – Child Murderers will receive increased punishment under legislation the Senate unanimously passed Monday. Senate Bill 218, sponsored by Senator Rick Halford (R-Chugiak), will establish more severe mandatory minimum sentences for those who murder society’s most vulnerable victims.

"Under current state law, when a child is killed, even when the killer is convicted, the murderer often does not receive the punishment deserved," said Halford. "By establishing punishment more fitting with the crime, we send a clear message of deterrence – if you kill a child, you will go to jail for a very long time."

Senate Bill 218 makes the following changes to Alaska’s criminal statutes:

• Amends current law by adding a new form of first degree murder when the death of a child results from the commission or attempted commission of kidnapping, or of a sexual offense.
• Expands the list of offenses constituting felony murder to include sexual abuse of a minor in the first and second degrees.
• Elevates criminally negligent homicide from a class C to a class B felony.
• Establishes a twenty year mandatory minimum sentence for a person convicted murdering a child under the age of sixteen.
• Increases the mandatory minimum sentence (from five to seven years) for manslaughter, when the victim is a child under the age of sixteen.
• Establishes a new sentencing provision, which allows for a term of unsuspended imprisonment that exceeds the presumptive term, for certain felony offenses if the victim is a child under the age of 16.
• Modifies the statutory definition of custodial interference.

Senate Bill 218 is an integral component of the Republican-led majority’s "Commitment to Alaska" to protect and keep Alaska’s children safe.

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= Rick Halford, 8 K