2006 Ohio Revised Code - 2929.06. Resentencing after sentence of death or life imprisonment without parole is set aside, nullified, or vacated.

§ 2929.06. Resentencing after sentence of death or life imprisonment without parole is set aside, nullified, or vacated.
 

(A)  If a sentence of death imposed upon an offender is set aside, nullified, or vacated because the court of appeals, in a case in which a sentence of death was imposed for an offense committed before January 1, 1995, or the supreme court, in cases in which the supreme court reviews the sentence upon appeal, could not affirm the sentence of death under the standards imposed by section 2929.05 of the Revised Code, is set aside, nullified, or vacated for the sole reason that the statutory procedure for imposing the sentence of death that is set forth in sections 2929.03 and 2929.04 of the Revised Code is unconstitutional, is set aside, nullified, or vacated pursuant to division (C) of section 2929.05 of the Revised Code, or is set aside, nullified, or vacated because a court has determined that the offender is mentally retarded under standards set forth in decisions of the supreme court of this state or the United States supreme court, the trial court that sentenced the offender shall conduct a hearing to resentence the offender. At the resentencing hearing, the court shall impose upon the offender a sentence of life imprisonment that is determined as specified in this division. The sentences of life imprisonment that are available at the hearing, and from which the court shall impose sentence, shall be the same sentences of life imprisonment that were available under division (D) of section 2929.03 or under section 2909.24 of the Revised Code at the time the offender committed the offense for which the sentence of death was imposed. Nothing in this division regarding the resentencing of an offender shall affect the operation of section 2971.03 of the Revised Code. 

(B)  Whenever any court of this state or any federal court sets aside, nullifies, or vacates a sentence of death imposed upon an offender because of error that occurred in the sentencing phase of the trial and if division (A) of this section does not apply, the trial court that sentenced the offender shall conduct a new hearing to resentence the offender. If the offender was tried by a jury, the trial court shall impanel a new jury for the hearing. If the offender was tried by a panel of three judges, that panel or, if necessary, a new panel of three judges shall conduct the hearing. At the hearing, the court shall follow the procedure set forth in division (D) of section 2929.03 of the Revised Code in determining whether to impose upon the offender a sentence of death or a sentence of life imprisonment. If, pursuant to that procedure, the court determines that it will impose a sentence of life imprisonment, the sentences of life imprisonment that are available at the hearing, and from which the court shall impose sentence, shall be the same sentences of life imprisonment that were available under division (D) of section 2929.03 or under section 2909.24 of the Revised Code at the time the offender committed the offense for which the sentence of death was imposed. 

(C)  If a sentence of life imprisonment without parole imposed upon an offender pursuant to section 2929.021 [2929.02.1] or 2929.03 of the Revised Code is set aside, nullified, or vacated for the sole reason that the statutory procedure for imposing the sentence of life imprisonment without parole that is set forth in sections 2929.03 and 2929.04 of the Revised Code is unconstitutional, the trial court that sentenced the offender shall conduct a hearing to resentence the offender to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after serving twenty-five full years of imprisonment or to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after serving thirty full years of imprisonment. 

(D)  Nothing in this section limits or restricts the rights of the state to appeal any order setting aside, nullifying, or vacating a conviction or sentence of death, when an appeal of that nature otherwise would be available. 

(E)  This section, as amended by H.B. 184 of the 125th General Assembly, shall apply to all offenders who have been sentenced to death for an aggravated murder that was committed on or after October 19, 1981, or for terrorism that was committed on or after May 15, 2002. This section, as amended by H.B. 184 of the 125th general assembly, shall apply equally to all such offenders sentenced to death prior to, on, or after the effective date of that act, including offenders who, on the effective date of that act, are challenging their sentence of death and offenders whose sentence of death has been set aside, nullified, or vacated by any court of this state or any federal court but who, as of the effective date of that act, have not yet been resentenced. 
 

HISTORY: 139 v S 1 (Eff 10-19-81); 146 v S 4 (Eff 9-21-95); 146 v S 2 (Eff 7-1-96); 146 v S 269 (Eff 7-1-96); 146 v S 258 (Eff 10-16-96); 146 v H 180 (Eff 1-1-97); 147 v S 107. Eff 7-29-98; 150 v H 184, § 1, eff. 3-23-05.
 

The provisions of § 3 of SB 107 (147 v  - ) read as follows: 

SECTION 3. Section 2929.06 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by Am. Sub. S.B. 269, Sub. S.B. 258, and Am. Sub. H.B. 180 of the 121st General Assembly, with the new language of none of the acts shown in capital letters. This is in recognition of the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that such amendments are to be harmonized where not substantively irreconcilable and constitutes a legislative finding that such is the resulting version in effect prior to the effective date of this act. 

See provisions, § 4 of HB 180 (146 v  - ) following RC § 2921.34. 

See provisions, §§ 3, 4 of SB 269 (146 v  - ) following RC § 2929.03. 

 

Effect of Amendments

150 v H 184, effective March 23, 2005, rewrote the section.