Senate Bill 2140

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CREATE THE CRIME OF AGGRAVATED MANSLAUGHTER; TO PROVIDE THE ELEMENTS OF THE CRIME; TO PROVIDE CRIMINAL PENALTIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 97-3-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

97-3-25. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any person convicted of manslaughter shall be fined in a sum not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or imprisoned in the county jail not more than one (1) year, or both, or in the custody of the Department of Corrections not less than two (2) years, nor more than twenty (20) years.

(2) (a) A person is guilty of child homicide if:

(i) The person is found guilty of manslaughter in circumstances where the killing, although without malice, was intentional and not accidental; and

(ii) The perpetrator was over the age of twenty-one (21) years and the victim was a child under the age of eighteen (18) years.

(b) A person found guilty of child homicide shall be imprisoned in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not to exceed thirty (30) years.

(3) (a) A person is guilty of aggravated manslaughter if the person is found guilty of manslaughter in circumstances where the killing, although without malice, was intentional and not accidental; and:

(i) The victim was a vulnerable adult, a senior citizen who was over the age of sixty-five (65) years of age; or an individual with known physical or mental disabilities; or

(ii) At the time of offense, the perpetrator had a prior conviction of a crime of violence listed under Section 97–3–2.

(b) A person convicted of aggravated manslaughter shall be imprisoned in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not less than ten (10) years nor more than thirty (30) years.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.