US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

    A person convicted of the crime of murder shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life or for any term of years that is not less than 25. The sentence of the court shall specify the length of the sentence to be served and shall commit the person to the Department of Corrections. [1983, c. 673, §3 (rpr).]

    In setting the length of imprisonment, if the victim is a child who had not in fact attained the age of 6 years at the time the crime was committed or if the victim is a woman that the convicted person knew or had reasonable cause to believe to be in fact pregnant at the time the crime was committed, a court shall assign special weight to this objective fact in determining the basic sentence in the first step of the sentencing process. The court shall assign special weight to any subjective victim impact in determining the final sentence in the 2nd and final step in the sentencing process. Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to restrict a court in setting the length of imprisonment from considering the age of the victim in other circumstances when relevant. [2005, c. 88, Pt. B, §1 (amd).]