Requires life imprisonment without parole for persons convicted of murder committed in course of commission of certain sex offenses regardless of victim's age.

A4393

ASSEMBLY, No. 4393

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ROBERT AUTH

District 39 (Bergen)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Clifton, Assemblywoman Flynn, Assemblymen Myhre
and Scharfenberger

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires life imprisonment without parole for persons
convicted of murder committed in course of commission of certain sex offenses
regardless of victim�s age.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning sentencing for certain murders and amending
N.J.S.2C:11-3.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� N.J.S.2C:11-3 is amended
to read as follows:

���� 2C:11-3.���� Murder.

���� a.��� Except as provided in
N.J.S.2C:11-4, criminal homicide constitutes murder when:

���� (1)�
[
The
]

the

actor purposely causes death or serious bodily injury resulting in death; or

���� (2)�
[
The
]

the

actor knowingly causes death or serious bodily injury resulting in death; or

���� (3)�
[
It
]

it
is
committed when the actor, acting either alone or with one or more other
persons, is engaged in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight
after committing or attempting to commit robbery, sexual assault, arson,
burglary, kidnapping, carjacking, criminal escape or terrorism pursuant to
section 2 of P.L.2002, c.26 (C.2C:38-2), and in the course of such crime or of
immediate flight therefrom, any person causes the death of a person other than
one of the participants; except that in any prosecution under this subsection,
in which the defendant was not the only participant in the underlying crime, it
is an affirmative defense that the defendant:

���� (a)��
[
Did
]

did

not commit the homicidal act or in any way solicit, request, command,
importune, cause or aid the commission thereof; and

���� (b)�
[
Was
]

was

not armed with a deadly weapon, or any instrument, article or substance readily
capable of causing death or serious physical injury and of a sort not
ordinarily carried in public places by law-abiding persons; and

���� (c)��
[
Had
]

had
no
reasonable ground to believe that any other participant was armed with such a
weapon, instrument, article or substance; and

���� (d)�
[
Had
]

had
no
reasonable ground to believe that any other participant intended to engage in
conduct likely to result in death or serious physical injury.

���� b. (1) Murder is a crime of
the first degree but a person convicted of murder shall be sentenced, except as
provided in paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of this subsection, by the court to a
term of 30 years, during which the person shall not be eligible for parole, or
be sentenced to a specific term of years which shall be between 30 years and
life imprisonment of which the person shall serve 30 years before being
eligible for parole.

���� (2)� If the victim was a law
enforcement officer and was murdered while performing his official duties or
was murdered because of his status as a law enforcement officer, the person
convicted of that murder shall be sentenced by the court to a term of life imprisonment,
during which the person shall not be eligible for parole.

���� (3)�
A
person convicted of murder shall be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment
without eligibility for parole if the murder was committed
[
under all of
the following circumstances
]
:

���� (a)��
[
The victim is
less than 18 years old; and
]

(Deleted by amendment, P.L. ���, c.�� �) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill)

���� (b)�
[
The act is
committed
]

in the course of the commission, whether alone or with one or more persons, of
a violation of N.J.S.2C:14-2 or N.J.S.2C:14-3.

���� (4)� Any person convicted
under subsection a.(1) or (2) who committed the homicidal act by his own
conduct; or who as an accomplice procured the commission of the offense by
payment or promise of payment of anything of pecuniary value; or who, as a
leader of a narcotics trafficking network as defined in N.J.S.2C:35-3 and in
furtherance of a conspiracy enumerated in N.J.S.2C:35-3, commanded or by threat
or promise solicited the commission of the offense, or, if the murder occurred
during the commission of the crime of terrorism, any person who committed the
crime of terrorism, shall be sentenced by the court to life imprisonment
without eligibility for parole, which sentence shall be served in a maximum
security prison, if a jury finds beyond a reasonable doubt that any of the
following aggravating factors exist:

���� (a)�� The defendant has been
convicted, at any time, of another murder.� For purposes of this section, a
conviction shall be deemed final when sentence is imposed and may be used as an
aggravating factor regardless of whether it is on appeal;

���� (b)� In the commission of the
murder, the defendant purposely or knowingly created a grave risk of death to
another person in addition to the victim;

���� (c)�� The murder was
outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture,
depravity of mind, or an aggravated assault to the victim;

���� (d)� The defendant committed
the murder as consideration for the receipt, or in expectation of the receipt
of anything of pecuniary value;

���� (e)�� The defendant procured
the commission of the murder by payment or promise of payment of anything of
pecuniary value;

���� (f)�� The murder was committed
for the purpose of escaping detection, apprehension, trial, punishment or
confinement for another offense committed by the defendant or another;

���� (g)� The murder was committed
while the defendant was engaged in the commission of, or an attempt to commit,
or flight after committing or attempting to commit murder, robbery, sexual
assault, arson, burglary, kidnapping, carjacking or the crime of contempt in
violation of subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:29-9;

���� (h)� The defendant murdered a
public servant, as defined in N.J.S.2C:27-1, while the victim was engaged in
the performance of his official duties, or because of the victim's status as a
public servant;

���� (i)�� The defendant: (i) as a
leader of a narcotics trafficking network as defined in N.J.S.2C:35-3 and in
furtherance of a conspiracy enumerated in N.J.S.2C:35-3, committed, commanded
or by threat or promise solicited the commission of the murder or (ii) committed
the murder at the direction of a leader of a narcotics trafficking network as
defined in N.J.S.2C:35-3 in furtherance of a conspiracy enumerated in
N.J.S.2C:35-3;

���� (j)�� The homicidal act that
the defendant committed or procured was in violation of paragraph (1) of
subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:17-2;

���� (k)� The victim was less than
14 years old; or

���� (l)�� The murder was committed
during the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing
or attempting to commit, terrorism pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2002, c.26
(C.2C:38-2).

���� (5)� A juvenile who has been
tried as an adult and convicted of murder shall be sentenced pursuant to
paragraph (1) of this subsection.

���� c.��� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2007, c.204).

���� d.��� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2007, c.204).

���� e.��� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2007, c.204).

���� f.���� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2007, c.204).

���� g.��� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2007, c.204).

���� h.��� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2007, c.204).

���� i.���� For purposes of this
section the term "homicidal act" shall mean conduct that causes death
or serious bodily injury resulting in death.

���� j.���� In a sentencing
proceeding conducted pursuant to this section, the display of a photograph of
the victim taken before the homicide shall be permitted.

(cf:� P.L.2017, c.150, s.1)

���� 2. This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires life
imprisonment without parole for persons convicted of murder that is committed in
the course of the commission of certain sex offenses regardless of the victim�s
age.

���� Under current law, a person
convicted of murder is required to be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment
without eligibility for parole if the murder was committed in the course of the
commission of sexual assault or criminal sexual contact and the victim was less
than 18 years old.

���� Under the provisions of this
bill, a person convicted of murder is required to be sentenced to a term of
life imprisonment without eligibility for parole if the murder was committed in
the course of the commission of sexual assault or criminal sexual contact
regardless of the victim�s age.