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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 1335H.P. 870House of Representatives, March 27, 2025
An Act to Prohibit Life Sentences
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative MILLIKEN of Blue Hill.
Cosponsored by Representatives: MATHIESON of Kittery, WARREN of Scarborough. Page 1 - 132LR0570(01)
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2 is amended to read:
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4 The trial of any criminal case, except for a trial for a crime punishable by imprisonment
5 for life prior to January 1, 2026, may be postponed by the court to a future day of the same
6 term, or the jury may be discharged therefrom and the case continued, if justice will thereby
7 be promoted.
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9 is further amended to read:
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11 section 1604, subsection 1, paragraph A, the sentence for a person convicted of aggravated
12 attempted murder is prior to January 1, 2026 must be sentenced by the court to
13 imprisonment for life or for a definite period of imprisonment for any term of years; and a
14 person convicted of aggravated attempted murder on or after January 1, 2026 may not be
15 sentenced by the court to imprisonment for life or for any term of years equivalent to
16 imprisonment for life, and the court shall set a term of imprisonment for a definite period
17 of any term of years. The In the case of a person convicted of aggravated attempted murder
18 prior to January 1, 2026, existence of an aggravating circumstance serves only as a
19 precondition for the court to consider a life sentence.
20 As used in this subsection, "term of years equivalent to imprisonment for life" has the same
21 meaning as in section 1604, subsection 9.
22 as enacted by PL 2019, c. 113, Pt. A, §2, is
23 amended to read:
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25 be sentenced to imprisonment for life or for any term of years that is not less than 25 years.
26 A person convicted of the crime of murder on or after January 1, 2026 may not be sentenced
27 by the court to imprisonment for life or for any term of years equivalent to imprisonment
28 for life, and the court shall set a term of imprisonment for any term of years that is not less
29 than 25 years. The sentence of the court must specify the length of the sentence to be
30 served and must commit the person to the Department of Corrections.
31 As used in this subsection, "term of years equivalent to imprisonment for life" has the same
32 meaning as in section 1604, subsection 9.
33 as enacted by PL 2019, c. 113, Pt. A, §2,
34 is amended to read:
35 A. In the case of a person convicted of the Class A crime of aggravated attempted
36 murder prior to January 1, 2026, the court shall set a term of imprisonment under
37 section subsection 2 of for life or for a definite period of any term of years. In
38 the case of a person convicted of the Class A crime of aggravated attempted murder on
39 or after January 1, 2026, the court may not sentence the person to imprisonment for life
40 or for any term of years equivalent to imprisonment for life, and the court shall set a
41 term of imprisonment under section 152-A, subsection 2 for a definite period of any
42 term of years; Page 2 - 132LR0570(01)
1 is enacted to read:
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3 provision of this Title to the contrary, beginning January 1, 2026, in sentencing a person
4 convicted of a crime under this Title, a court may not set a term of imprisonment for life or
5 for any term of years equivalent to imprisonment for life.
6 is enacted to read:
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8 section, "term of years equivalent to imprisonment for life" means a sentence of
9 imprisonment for a term of years that, as determined by the court based on the age of the
10 convicted person at the time of sentencing and other factors determined by the court, is
11 reasonably expected to result in the imprisonment of the person for the remainder of the
12 person's life.
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14 This bill amends the sentencing provisions under the Maine Criminal Code to provide
15 that, for a person convicted of any crime under that Code on or after January 1, 2026, in
16 sentencing the person, a court may not set a term of imprisonment for life or for any term
17 of years equivalent to imprisonment for life.
18 The bill defines "term of years equivalent to imprisonment for life" to mean a sentence
19 of imprisonment for a term of years that, as determined by the court based on the age of the
20 convicted person at the time of sentencing and other factors determined by the court, is
21 reasonably expected to result in the imprisonment of the person for the remainder of the
22 person's life.
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