Ohio Code 2929.06 – Resentencing hearing
(A)(1) If a sentence of death imposed upon an offender is set aside, nullified, vacated, or voided for any of the following reasons, the trial court that sentenced the offender shall conduct a hearing to resentence the offender in accordance with division (A)(2) of this section:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 2929.06
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- imprisonment: means being imprisoned under a sentence imposed for an offense or serving a term of imprisonment, prison term, jail term, term of local incarceration, or other term under a sentence imposed for an offense in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction, a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, a minimum security jail, a community-based correctional facility, or another facility described or referred to in section 2929. See Ohio Code 1.05
- Offender: means a person who, in this state, is convicted of or pleads guilty to a felony or a misdemeanor. See Ohio Code 2929.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Sentence: means the sanction or combination of sanctions imposed by the sentencing court on an offender who is convicted of or pleads guilty to an offense. See Ohio Code 2929.01
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- United States: includes all the states. See Ohio Code 1.59
(a) 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 a case 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.
(b) 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.
(c) The sentence of death is set aside, nullified, or vacated pursuant to division (C) of section 2929.05 of the Revised Code.
(d) A court has determined that the offender is a person with an intellectual disability under standards set forth in decisions of the supreme court of this state or the United States supreme court.
(e) The sentence of death is voided by a court pursuant to division (H) of section 2953.21 of the Revised Code.
(2) At a resentencing hearing conducted under division (A)(1) of this section, the court shall impose upon the offender a sentence of life imprisonment or an indefinite term consisting of a minimum term of thirty years and a maximum term of life imprisonment that is determined as specified in this division. If the sentence of death was voided by a court pursuant to division (H) of section 2953.21 of the Revised Code, the offender has waived any right to be sentenced to any sentence other than life imprisonment without parole as described in division (A)(3)(b) of that section and the court shall impose a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. If the immediately preceding sentence does not apply and if division (D) of section 2929.03 of the Revised Code, at the time the offender committed the aggravated murder for which the sentence of death was imposed, required the imposition when a sentence of death was not imposed of a sentence of life imprisonment without parole or a sentence of an indefinite term consisting of a minimum term of thirty years and a maximum term of life imprisonment to be imposed pursuant to division (A) or (B)(3) of section 2971.03 of the Revised Code and served pursuant to that section, except as provided in division (F) of this section, the court shall impose the sentence so required. In all other cases, except as provided in division (F) of this section, 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 or panel 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, a sentence of life imprisonment, or an indefinite term consisting of a minimum term of thirty years and a maximum term of life imprisonment. If, pursuant to that procedure, the court or panel determines that it will impose a sentence other than a sentence of death, except as provided in division (F) of this section, the court or panel shall impose upon the offender one of the sentences of life imprisonment that could have been imposed at the time the offender committed the offense for which the sentence of death was imposed, determined as specified in this division, or an indefinite term consisting of a minimum term of thirty years and a maximum term of life imprisonment that is determined as specified in this division. If division (D) of section 2929.03 of the Revised Code, at the time the offender committed the aggravated murder for which the sentence of death was imposed, required the imposition when a sentence of death was not imposed of a sentence of life imprisonment without parole or a sentence of an indefinite term consisting of a minimum term of thirty years and a maximum term of life imprisonment to be imposed pursuant to division (A) or (B)(3) of section 2971.03 of the Revised Code and served pursuant to that section, except as provided in division (F) of this section, the court or panel shall impose the sentence so required. In all other cases, except as provided in division (F) of this section, the sentences of life imprisonment that are available at the hearing, and from which the court or panel 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 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 March 23, 2005, including offenders who, on March 23, 2005, 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 March 23, 2005, have not yet been resentenced.
(F) A court shall not impose a sentence of life imprisonment without parole on a person under division (A) or (B) of this section for an offense that was committed when the person was under eighteen years of age.
The Legislative Service Commission presents the text of this section as a composite of the section as amended by multiple acts of the General Assembly. This presentation recognizes the principle stated in R.C. 1.52(B) that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation.