House Bill 1398

AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI MASS CASUALTY THREATS PREVENTION ACT; TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS FOR THE ACT; TO CREATE THE CRIMES OF "CAPITAL MASS CASUALTY THREAT" AND "MASS CASUALTY THREAT"; TO REQUIRE THE DEATH PENALTY UPON CONVICTION FOR THE CRIME; TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Mass Casualty Threats Prevention Act."

(2) For purposes of this act, the following words shall have the meanings described in this section:

(a) "Criminal act" means any act that is defined as a crime by state or federal law.

(b) "Crowd" means two (2) or more people gathered in close physical proximity to each other.

(c) "Mass casualty act" means and includes shooting firearms, use of explosive devices, release of deadly chemicals, driving any motor vehicle into any crowd of people gathered with the intent to injure any person in the crowd.

(3) (a) A person commits the crime of "capital mass casualty threat" when the person commits a mass casualty act and: (i) kills or (ii) physically injures any person while such person is in a crowd. Upon conviction for the crime of "capital mass casualty threat", the person shall be guilty of a felony. If the court shall sentence such person to the death penalty, the method of the death penalty shall be by firing squad. The person shall be imprisoned in the custody of the Department of Corrections until the death penalty is administered.

(b) A person commits the crime of "mass casualty threat" when the person commits a mass casualty act and: (iii) attempts to kill or (iv) attempts to physically injure any person, regardless of whether a person was actually injured, while such person is in a crowd. Upon conviction for the crime of "mass casualty threat", the person shall be guilty of a felony.

Failure to actually kill or injure any person shall not be a defense to this crime if the criminal act could have killed or injured any person in the crowd had such act been completed.

(4) It is not a defense to a prosecution under this section that, at the time the defendant violated the provisions of this act, the defendant did not have the intent or capability to actually commit the specified offense, nor is it a defense that the threat was not made to a person who was a subject or intended victim of the threatened act.

SECTION 2. Section 97-3-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

97-3-21. (1) Except as otherwise provided for a juvenile offender in subsection (2) of this section, every person who is:

(a) Convicted of first-degree murder shall be sentenced by the court to imprisonment for life in the custody of the Department of Corrections.

(b) Convicted of second-degree murder shall be imprisoned for life in the custody of the Department of Corrections if the punishment is so fixed by the jury in its verdict after a separate sentencing proceeding. If the jury fails to agree on fixing the penalty at imprisonment for life, the court shall fix the penalty at not less than twenty (20) nor more than forty (40) years in the custody of the Department of Corrections.

(c) Convicted of capital murder or "capital mass casualty threat" shall be sentenced (i) to death; (ii) to imprisonment for life in the State Penitentiary without parole; or (iii) to imprisonment for life in the State Penitentiary with eligibility for parole as provided in Section 47-7-3(1)(c)(iii).

(2) (a) For the purposes of this section, "juvenile offender" means a person who had not reached the age of eighteen (18) years at the time of the commission of the offense.

(b) A juvenile offender who is convicted of first-degree murder after July 1, 2024, may be sentenced to life imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections if the punishment is so fixed by the jury. If the jury fails to fix the penalty at life imprisonment, the court shall fix the penalty at not less than twenty (20) nor more than forty (40) years in the custody of the Department of Corrections.

(c) A juvenile offender who is convicted of capital murder after July 1, 2024, may be sentenced to life imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections or life imprisonment without eligibility for parole in the custody of the Department of Corrections if the punishment is so fixed by the jury. If the jury fails to fix the penalty at life imprisonment or life imprisonment without parole, the court shall fix the penalty at not less than twenty-five (25) nor more than fifty (50) years in the custody of the Department of Corrections.

(d) For a juvenile offender who was convicted of first-degree murder or capital murder prior to July 1, 2024, and who is entitled to a hearing under this subsection, the judge who presided over the trial, or a judge appointed by the senior circuit judge, if the presiding judge is unavailable, shall fix the penalty.

(e) For a juvenile offender who is convicted of a mass casualty threat, the court shall sentence the youth offender to life imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections if the punishment is so fixed by the jury. If the jury fails to fix the penalty at life imprisonment, the court shall fix the penalty at not less than twenty (20) nor more than forty (40) years in the custody of the Department of Corrections.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.