| 12 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 13 | 14 | | AN ACT TO ALLOW FOR MITIGATED SENTENCING FOR SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC 2 |
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| 14 | 15 | | VIOLENCE AND OTHER FORMS OF ABUSE . 3 |
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| 15 | 16 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4 |
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| 16 | 17 | | SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the North Carolina 5 |
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| 17 | 18 | | Survivors' Act. 6 |
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| 18 | 19 | | SECTION 2. Article 81B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part 7 |
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| 19 | 20 | | to read: 8 |
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| 20 | 21 | | "Part 4. Survivor Sentencing. 9 |
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| 21 | 22 | | "§ 15A-1340.26. Survivor sentencing; generally. 10 |
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| 22 | 23 | | (a) Applicability. – Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, this Part shall 11 |
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| 23 | 24 | | apply to criminal sentencing under this Chapter, G.S. 20-138.1, and any other provision of law 12 |
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| 24 | 25 | | purporting to sentence a criminal defendant. 13 |
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| 25 | 26 | | (b) Definitions. – Unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply 14 |
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| 26 | 27 | | in this Part: 15 |
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| 27 | 28 | | (1) Domestic violence. – An act of physical harm or the threat of imminent 16 |
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| 28 | 29 | | physical harm which is committed by an adult, emancipated minor, or minor 17 |
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| 29 | 30 | | child 13 years of age or older against an adult, emancipated minor, or minor 18 |
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| 30 | 31 | | child who is currently or was previously an intimate partner, a family member, 19 |
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| 31 | 32 | | or a household member. 20 |
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| 32 | 33 | | (2) Physical abuse. – Any real or threatened physical injury or damage to the body 21 |
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| 33 | 34 | | that is not accidental. 22 |
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| 34 | 35 | | (3) Post-traumatic stress disorder. – The same as the term is defined in the 23 |
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| 35 | 36 | | Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5, 24 |
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| 36 | 37 | | 2013), and occurred as a result of the victimization of a survivor related to the 25 |
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| 37 | 38 | | violence or abuse. 26 |
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| 38 | 39 | | (4) Psychological abuse. – A pattern of real or threatened mental intimidation, 27 |
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| 39 | 40 | | threats, coercive control, economic or financial control, and humiliation that 28 |
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| 40 | 41 | | provokes fear of harm. 29 |
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| 41 | 42 | | (5) Sentencing hearing. – A post-conviction hearing in which the defendant is 30 |
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| 42 | 43 | | brought before the court for imposition of a sentence. 31 |
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| 43 | 44 | | "§ 15A-1340.27. Survivor sentencing; original sentencing hearing. 32 |
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| 44 | 45 | | (a) During a hearing to sentence a person or for a person to accept a plea of guilty, when 33 |
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| 45 | 46 | | that person is a survivor of domestic violence and has been charged with a crime, the court shall 34 |
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| 46 | 47 | | consider as a mitigating factor that the person has been abused physically, sexually, or 35 |
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| 49 | 54 | | trafficker of the person, or other individual who used the person for financial gain. The defendant 1 |
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| 50 | 55 | | shall provide to the court evidence including but not limited to each of the following: 2 |
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| 51 | 56 | | (1) Documentary evidence corroborating that the defendant was, at the time of 3 |
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| 52 | 57 | | the offense, a victim of domestic violence. 4 |
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| 53 | 58 | | (2) At least one piece of documentary evidence that is a court record, presentence 5 |
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| 54 | 59 | | report, social services record, hospital record, sworn statement from a witness 6 |
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| 55 | 60 | | to the domestic violence or abuse who is not the defendant, law enforcement 7 |
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| 56 | 61 | | record, domestic incident report, or protective order. 8 |
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| 57 | 62 | | (3) Local confinement facility records, records of the Department of Adult 9 |
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| 58 | 63 | | Correction, documentation prepared at or near the time of the commission or 10 |
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| 59 | 64 | | prosecution of the offense tending to support the claims of the defendant, or 11 |
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| 60 | 65 | | verification of consultation with a licensed medical care provide or mental 12 |
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| 61 | 66 | | health care provider, employee of a court acting within the scope of the 13 |
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| 62 | 67 | | employee's employment, member of the clergy, attorney, social worker, rape 14 |
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| 63 | 68 | | crisis counselor, or other advocate acting on behalf of an agency that assists 15 |
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| 64 | 69 | | victims of domestic violence or abuse. Expert testimony from a psychiatrist, 16 |
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| 65 | 70 | | psychologist or mental health professional showing that the defendant has 17 |
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| 66 | 71 | | been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the violence 18 |
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| 67 | 72 | | or abuse at issue may also be submitted to the court as evidence. 19 |
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| 68 | 73 | | (b) If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that at the time of the offense the 20 |
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| 69 | 74 | | defendant was a survivor of domestic violence or subjected to physical, sexual, or psychological 21 |
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| 70 | 75 | | abuse inflicted by a sexual partner, family member, or member of the household, the trafficker 22 |
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| 71 | 76 | | of the defendant, or any person who used the defendant for financial gain, and that the violence 23 |
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| 72 | 77 | | or abuse was related to and was a substantial contributing factor in causing the defendant to 24 |
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| 73 | 78 | | commit the offense or to the defendant's criminal behavior, the court shall depart from the 25 |
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| 74 | 79 | | applicable sentence to the ranges provided as follows: 26 |
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| 75 | 80 | | (1) Sentences of life without the possibility of parole shall be reduced to 30 years 27 |
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| 76 | 81 | | or less. 28 |
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| 77 | 82 | | (2) Sentences of life with the possibility of parole shall be reduced to 25 years or 29 |
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| 78 | 83 | | less. 30 |
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| 79 | 84 | | (3) Sentences of 30 years or more shall be reduced to 20 years or less. 31 |
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| 80 | 85 | | (4) Sentences of 20 years or more shall be reduced to 15 years or less. 32 |
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| 81 | 86 | | (5) Sentences of 15 years or more shall be reduced to 7.5 years or less. 33 |
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| 82 | 87 | | (6) Sentences of 8 years or more shall be reduced to 5 years or less. 34 |
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| 83 | 88 | | (c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a person convicted of any of the 35 |
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| 84 | 89 | | following: 36 |
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| 85 | 90 | | (1) An offense that would require the person to register as a sex offender. 37 |
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| 86 | 91 | | (2) An attempt or conspiracy to commit an offense that would require the person 38 |
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| 87 | 92 | | to register as a sex offender. 39 |
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| 88 | 93 | | (3) An offense under any of the following: 40 |
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| 89 | 94 | | a. G.S. 14-32.3. 41 |
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| 90 | 95 | | b. G.S. 14-112.2. 42 |
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| 91 | 96 | | c. Article 7B of Chapter 14, when committed against a victim that has a 43 |
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| 92 | 97 | | mental disability or who is mentally incapacitated or physically 44 |
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| 93 | 98 | | helpless, and the person committing the offense knows or should 45 |
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| 94 | 99 | | reasonably know that the victim has a mental disability or is mentally 46 |
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| 95 | 100 | | incapacitated or physically helpless. 47 |
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| 96 | 101 | | (4) An offense under any of the following: 48 |
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| 97 | 102 | | a. G.S. 14-318.2. 49 |
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| 98 | 103 | | b. G.S. 14-318.4. 50 |
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| 99 | 104 | | c. Article 7B of Chapter 14, when committed against a child. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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| 101 | 106 | | (5) An offense for which the person has received a sentence of death. 1 |
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| 102 | 107 | | "§ 15A-1340.28. Survivor sentencing; application for person previously sentenced. 2 |
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| 103 | 108 | | (a) Where a court has imposed a criminal judgment and sentence upon a defendant other 3 |
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| 104 | 109 | | than for an offense described in G.S. 15A-1340.27(c) and the defendant is serving the sentence 4 |
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| 105 | 110 | | in the custody of the Department of Adult Correction, the court shall impose a new, lesser 5 |
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| 106 | 111 | | sentence following a hearing if the court determines each of the following: 6 |
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| 107 | 112 | | (1) At the time of the offense for which the sentence is being served, the defendant 7 |
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| 108 | 113 | | was a victim of domestic violence or subjsected to physical, sexual, or 8 |
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| 109 | 114 | | psychological abuse inflicted by a sexual partner, a family member or member 9 |
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| 110 | 115 | | of the household, the trafficker of the defendant, or any preson who used the 10 |
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| 111 | 116 | | defendant for financial gain. 11 |
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| 112 | 117 | | (2) The violence or abuse under subdivision (1) of this subsection was related to 12 |
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| 113 | 118 | | and was a substantial contributing factor in causing (i) the defendant to 13 |
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| 114 | 119 | | commit the offense for which the defendant is presently in custody or (ii) the 14 |
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| 115 | 120 | | defendant's criminal behavior. 15 |
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| 116 | 121 | | (b) At the hearing to determine whether a defendant should be resentenced pursuant to 16 |
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| 117 | 122 | | this section, the court shall take testimony from witnesses offered by the State and the defendant 17 |
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| 118 | 123 | | and shall consider oral and written arguments and any other relevant evidence to assist in making 18 |
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| 119 | 124 | | its determination. The court may determine that the violence or abuse found pursuant to 19 |
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| 120 | 125 | | subsection (a) of this section was related to and was a substantial contributing factor to the offense 20 |
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| 121 | 126 | | regardless of whether the defendant raised an affirmative defense. 21 |
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| 122 | 127 | | (c) Any person meeting all of the following circumstances may, on or after the date this 22 |
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| 123 | 128 | | section becomes effective, submit to the judge who imposed the original sentence a request to 23 |
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| 124 | 129 | | apply for resentencing in accordance with the provisions of this section: 24 |
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| 125 | 130 | | (1) Confined in an institution under the custody and control of the Department of 25 |
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| 126 | 131 | | Adult Correction. 26 |
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| 127 | 132 | | (2) Serving a sentence for an offense committed prior to the effective date of this 27 |
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| 128 | 133 | | section. 28 |
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| 129 | 134 | | (3) Eligible for an alternative sentence pursuant to the provisions of this section. 29 |
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| 130 | 135 | | A person making a request under this subsection shall include in the request documentation 30 |
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| 131 | 136 | | and declarations to support the person's claims. 31 |
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| 132 | 137 | | (d) If, upon receipt of a request pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, the original 32 |
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| 133 | 138 | | sentencing judge is not serving on the court in which the original sentence was imposed at the 33 |
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| 134 | 139 | | time of the request to apply for resentencing, the request shall be randomly assigned to a judge 34 |
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| 135 | 140 | | of the original sentencing court. 35 |
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| 136 | 141 | | (e) If the court finds that the person has met the requirements to apply for resentencing 36 |
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| 137 | 142 | | as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the court shall provide notice to the person that the 37 |
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| 138 | 143 | | person may submit an application for resentencing. Upon receiving this notification, the person 38 |
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| 139 | 144 | | may request the court appoint an attorney to assist the person in the preparation of and 39 |
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| 140 | 145 | | proceedings on the application for resentencing. 40 |
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| 141 | 146 | | (f) If the court finds that the person has not met the requirements to apply for 41 |
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| 142 | 147 | | resentencing as provided for in subsection (c) of this section, the court shall notify the person and 42 |
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| 143 | 148 | | deny the person's request without prejudice. 43 |
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| 144 | 149 | | "§ 15A-1340.29. Survivor sentencing; resentencing hearing for person previously 44 |
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| 145 | 150 | | sentenced. 45 |
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| 146 | 151 | | (a) Upon receipt of an application for resentencing as authorized by 46 |
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| 147 | 152 | | G.S. 15A-1340.28(e), the clerk of court shall promptly notify the district attorney and provide 47 |
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| 148 | 153 | | the district attorney with a copy of the application. 48 |
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| 149 | 154 | | (b) If the judge that receives an application pursuant to subsection (a) of this section is 49 |
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| 150 | 155 | | not the judge who originally sentenced the applicant, the application may be referred to the 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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| 152 | 157 | | original sentencing judge if that judge is serving as a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction 1 |
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| 153 | 158 | | and the applicant and the district attorney agree that the application should be referred. 2 |
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| 154 | 159 | | (c) An application for resentencing received pursuant to this section shall include 3 |
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| 155 | 160 | | evidence including but not limited to each of the following: 4 |
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| 156 | 161 | | (1) Corroborating the claim of the applicant that the applicant was a victim of 5 |
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| 157 | 162 | | domestic violence or subjected to physical, sexual, or psychological abuse 6 |
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| 158 | 163 | | inflicted b a sexual partner, a family member or member of the household, the 7 |
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| 159 | 164 | | trafficker of the applicant, or any person who used the applicant for financial 8 |
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| 160 | 165 | | gain. 9 |
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| 161 | 166 | | (2) A court record, presentence report, social services record, hospital record, 10 |
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| 162 | 167 | | sworn statement from a witness to the domestic violence who is not the 11 |
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| 163 | 168 | | applicant, law enforcement record, domestic incident report, or protective 12 |
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| 164 | 169 | | order. 13 |
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| 165 | 170 | | (3) Local confinement facility records, records of the Department of Adult 14 |
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| 166 | 171 | | Correction, documentation prepared at or near the time of the commission or 15 |
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| 167 | 172 | | prosecution of the offense tending to support the claims of the defendant, or 16 |
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| 168 | 173 | | verification of consultation with a licensed medical care provide or mental 17 |
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| 169 | 174 | | health care provider, employee of a court acting within the scope of the 18 |
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| 170 | 175 | | employee's employment, member of the clergy, attorney, social worker, rape 19 |
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| 171 | 176 | | crisis counselor, or other advocate acting on behalf of an agency that assists 20 |
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| 172 | 177 | | victims of domestic violence or abuse. Expert testimony from a psychiatrist, 21 |
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| 173 | 178 | | psychologist or mental health professional showing that the defendant has 22 |
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| 174 | 179 | | been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the violence 23 |
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| 175 | 180 | | or abuse at issue may also be submitted to the court as evidence. 24 |
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| 176 | 181 | | (d) If the court finds that the applicant has not complied with the provisions of subsection 25 |
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| 177 | 182 | | (c) of this section, the court shall deny the application without prejudice. 26 |
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| 178 | 183 | | (e) If the court finds that the applicant has complied with the provisions of subsection (c) 27 |
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| 179 | 184 | | of this section, the court shall conduct a sentencing hearing to aid in making its determination of 28 |
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| 180 | 185 | | whether the applicant should be resentenced in accordance with G.S. 15A-1340.27(b). At the 29 |
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| 181 | 186 | | hearing, the court shall determine any controverted issues of fact relevant to the issue of 30 |
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| 182 | 187 | | sentencing. The court may consider any facts or circumstances relevant to the imposition of a 31 |
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| 183 | 188 | | new sentence submitted by the applicant or the district attorney and may consider the institutional 32 |
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| 184 | 189 | | record of confinement of the person, provided, however, the institutional record shall not be 33 |
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| 185 | 190 | | solely dispositive as to whether an applicant receives a reduced sentence. The court shall not 34 |
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| 186 | 191 | | order a new presentence investigation and report or entertain any matter challenging the 35 |
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| 187 | 192 | | underlying basis of the subject conviction. Consideration of the institutional record of 36 |
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| 188 | 193 | | confinement of an applicant by the court shall include, but not be limited to, the participation of 37 |
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| 189 | 194 | | the applicant in programming for domestic violence, parenting, and substance abuse treatment 38 |
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| 190 | 195 | | while incarcerated, and the disciplinary history of the applicant. The inability of the applicant to 39 |
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| 191 | 196 | | participate in treatment or other programming while incarcerated despite the willingness of the 40 |
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| 192 | 197 | | applicant to do so shall not be considered a negative factor when the court is making its decision. 41 |
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| 193 | 198 | | (f) If the court determines after a hearing under subsection (e) of this section that the 42 |
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| 194 | 199 | | applicant should not be resentenced in accordance with G.S. 15A-1340.27(b), the court shall 43 |
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| 195 | 200 | | inform the applicant of its decision and shall enter an order to that effect. Any order issued by a 44 |
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| 196 | 201 | | court pursuant to this subsection shall include written findings of fact and the reasons for the 45 |
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| 197 | 202 | | order. If the applicant is denied on the merits of the application, the court shall deny the applicant 46 |
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| 198 | 203 | | with prejudice. 47 |
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| 199 | 204 | | (g) If the court determines after a hearing under subsection (e) of this section that the 48 |
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| 200 | 205 | | applicant should be resentenced in accordance with G.S. 15A-1340.27(b), the court shall notify 49 |
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| 201 | 206 | | the applicant that, unless the applicant withdraws the application for resentencing or appeals the 50 |
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| 202 | 207 | | order of the court, the court shall enter an order vacating the sentence originally imposed and 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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| 204 | 209 | | shall impose a new sentence as set forth in G.S. 15A-1340.27(b). Any order issued by a court 1 |
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| 205 | 210 | | pursuant to this subsection shall include written findings of fact and the reasons for the order. 2 |
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| 206 | 211 | | Sentences modified pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall be reduced as set forth in 3 |
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| 207 | 212 | | G.S. 15A-1340.27(b). When calculating the new sentence to be served by the applicant, the 4 |
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| 208 | 213 | | applicant shall be credited for any time served in a local confinement facility or in the custody of 5 |
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| 209 | 214 | | the Department of Adult Correction toward the sentence originally imposed. 6 |
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| 210 | 215 | | (h) An appeal to the Court of Appeals may be taken as of right from an order under this 7 |
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| 211 | 216 | | section denying resentencing or ordering a new sentence be imposed. Pursuant to an appeal under 8 |
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| 212 | 217 | | this subsection, the applicant may request that the Court of Appeals direct the Appellate Defender 9 |
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| 213 | 218 | | to assist the applicant in the preparation of the appeal and represent the applicant during the 10 |
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| 214 | 219 | | subsequent appellate proceedings." 11 |
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| 215 | 220 | | SECTION 3. This act becomes effective December 1, 2025. 12 |
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