Violent habitual offender; require jury determination.

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To: Judiciary, Division B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Simmons (12th)

SENATE BILL NO. 2227

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 99-19-83, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO REVISE VIOLENT HABITUAL OFFENDER SENTENCING; AND FOR RELATED 2
PURPOSES. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 4
SECTION 1. Section 99-19-83, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 5
amended as follows: 6
99-19-83. (1) Every person convicted in this state of a 7
felony who shall have been convicted twice previously of any 8
felony or federal crime upon charges separately brought and 9
arising out of separate incidents at different times and who shall 10
have been sentenced to and served separate terms of one (1) year 11
or more, whether served concurrently or not, in any state and/or 12
federal penal institution, whether in this state or elsewhere, and 13
where any one (1) of such felonies shall have been a crime of 14
violence, as defined by Section 97-3-2, shall be sentenced to life 15
imprisonment, but only if the jury decides, after a separate 16
sentencing proceeding, that life imprisonment should be imposed, 17
and such sentence shall not be reduced or suspended nor shall such 18
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person be eligible for parole, probation or any other form of 19
early release from actual physical custody within the Department 20
of Corrections. 21
If the jury declines to sentence the defendant to life 22
imprisonment, the court shall fix the penalty at the maximum term 23
of imprisonment prescribed for the underlying felony, subject to 24
any other applicable enhancements. 25
(2) The sentencing proceeding shall be conducted by the 26
trial judge before the trial jury as soon as practicable. If, 27
through impossibility or inability, the trial jury is unable to 28
reconvene for a hearing on the issue of penalty, having determined 29
the guilt of the accused, the trial judge may summon a jury to 30
determine the issue of the imposition of the penalty. If trial by 31
jury has been waived, or if the defendant pleaded guilty, the 32
sentencing proceeding shall be conducted before a jury impaneled 33
for that purpose or may be conducted before the trial judge 34
sitting without a jury if both the State of Mississippi and the 35
defendant agree thereto in writing. In the proceeding, evidence 36
may be presented as to any matter that the court deems relevant to 37
sentence, and shall include matters relating to any of the 38
aggravating or mitigating circumstances. However, this subsection 39
shall not be construed to authorize the introduction of any 40
evidence secured in violation of the Constitution of the United 41
States or of the State of Mississippi. The state and the 42
defendant and the defendant's counsel shall be permitted to 43
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present arguments for or against the sentence of life 44
imprisonment. This subsection shall not be construed to require 45
that the jury find that sufficient prior felonies exist for the 46
defendant to be eligible for the imposition of this enhancement. 47
(3) In making the determination whether to sentence the 48
defendant to life imprisonment, the jury shall consider any 49
mitigating or aggravating circumstances. 50
(4) Aggravating circumstances shall be limited to the 51
following: 52
(a) If the offense was committed by a person under 53
sentence of imprisonment; 54
(b) If the defendant knowingly created a great risk of 55
death to many persons; 56
(c) If the offense was committed for the purpose of 57
avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or effecting an escape from 58
custody; 59
(d) If the offense was committed to disrupt or hinder 60
the lawful exercise of any governmental function or the 61
enforcement of laws; 62
(e) If the offense was committed to influence the 63
policy of a governmental entity by intimidation or coercion, or to 64
affect the conduct of a governmental entity by mass destruction or 65
assassination; 66
(f) If the offense was especially heinous, atrocious or 67
cruel; and 68
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(g) If the offense was committed to intimidate or 69
coerce a civilian population. 70
(5) Mitigating circumstances shall include, but shall not be 71
limited to, the following: 72
(a) The nature or seriousness of any prior offenses, 73
including whether another person was harmed and the degree of 74
harm; 75
(b) The nature and seriousness of the current offense, 76
including whether another person was harmed and the degree of 77
harm; 78
(c) The age of the defendant at present; 79
(d) The amount of time between separate prior offenses 80
and between any prior offenses and the current offense; 81
(e) The age of the defendant at the commission of any 82
prior felonies; 83
(f) If the current or any prior offenses were driven in 84
part by mental health problems; 85
(g) If the current or any prior offenses were driven in 86
part by substance abuse problems; and 87
(h) The defendant's role or level of participation in 88
the current or any prior offenses. 89
(6) For the jury to impose an enhanced sentence under this 90
section, it must unanimously find in writing the following: 91
(a) That sufficient aggravating factors exist as 92
enumerated in subsection (4) of this section; and 93
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ST: Violent habitual offender; require jury
determination.
(b) That there are insufficient mitigating 94
circumstances, as enumerated in subsection (5) of this section, to 95
outweigh the aggravating circumstances. 96
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 97
and after July 1, 2026. 98