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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
HOUSE BILL 2449 By: Virgin
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to children; stating findings of the
Legislature regarding differences between juvenile
and adult offenders; providing l egislative intent;
defining term; directing courts to consider
differences between juvenile and adult offenders;
authorizing courts to reduce mandatory minimum
sentencing requirement by certain percentage;
authorizing courts to depart from certain sentenci ng
enhancements; providing for codification; providing
for noncodification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
A. The Legislature finds that children are different from
adults and that these differences must be taken into account when
children are sentenced for adult crimes.
B. As stated by the United States Supreme Court in Miller v.
Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), "only a relatively small proportion of
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adolescents" who engage in illegal activity "develop entrenched
patterns of problem behavior ". Id., at 570.
C. Children are more vulnerable to negative influences and
outside pressures, including from their family and peers, and they
have limited control over their own environment and lack the ability
to extricate themselves from horrific, crime -producing settings.
D. The United States Supreme Court has emphasized thr ough cases
such as Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), Graham v. Florida,
560 U.S. 48 (2010), Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012) , and
Montgomery v. Louisiana , 136 S. Ct. 718 (2016) that "the distinctive
attributes of youth diminish the penological j ustifications for
imposing the harshest sentences on juvenile offenders, even w hen
they commit terrible crimes ".
E. The Legislature further finds that there is a recent trend
in the United States of giving greater discretion to judges when
sentencing children, including departing from mandatory minimum
sentences in appropriate cases.
F. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to allow
courts to depart up to thirty -five percent (35%) from any applicable
mandatory minimum sentence when sentencing chi ldren, as well as any
applicable mandatory sentencing enhancements, if the court believes
such a reduction is warranted given the young age of the child and
the prospects for rehabilitation.
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SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law t o be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2 -5-401 of Title 10A, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. As used in this section, "mandatory minimum" means the
minimum number of years of imprisonment a person is req uired to
serve based on the felony or misdemeanor offense.
B. If a person is convicted as an adult for an offense that the
person committed when he or she was under eighteen (18) years of
age, in addition to any other factors that the court is required to
consider before imposing a sentence upon that person, the court
shall consider the differences between juvenile and adult offenders,
including without limitation the diminished culpability of juveniles
as compared to that of adults and the typical charact eristics of
youth.
C. After considering the factors set forth in subsection B of
this section, the court may reduce any mandatory minimum period of
incarceration that the person is required to serve by not more than
thirty-five percent (35%) if the court determines that a reduction
in the sentence is warranted given the age of the person and his or
her prospects for rehabilitation.
D. Before the imposition of a sentence for a person who was
under eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the offense and
after consideration of the factors in subsection B of this section,
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the court may depart from any minimum mandatory sentencing
enhancement that the court would otherwise be required to impose.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective Nove mber 1, 2021.
58-1-6683 CMA 12/21/20