| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1251, as amended by PL 1999, c. 536, §1, is | further amended to read: |
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| §1251. Imprisonment for murder |
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| | A person convicted of the crime of murder shall must be | sentenced to imprisonment for life or for any term of years that | is not less than 25 20. The sentence of the court shall must | specify the length of the sentence to be served and shall commit | the person to the Department of Corrections. |
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| | In setting the length of imprisonment, if the victim is a | child who had not in fact attained the age of 6 years at the time | the crime was committed, a court shall assign special weight to | this objective fact in determining the basic sentence in the | first step of the sentencing process. The court shall assign | special weight to any subjective victim impact in determining the | final sentence in the 2nd and final step in the sentencing | process. Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to restrict | a court in setting the length of imprisonment from considering | the age of the victim in other circumstances when relevant. |
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| | Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §1252, sub-§5-A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 232, §1, | is repealed. |
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| | Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §1252, sub-§9 is enacted to read: |
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| | 9.__Whenever a mandatory minimum fine or period of | imprisonment is required by law, the mandatory minimum sentence | may be suspended if imposition of the mandatory minimum sentence | would create substantial injustice and if the deviation from the | mandatory minimum sentence neither diminishes the gravity of the | offense nor adversely affects the safety of the public and would | not frustrate the general purposes of sentencing set forth in | section 1151. |
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| To deviate from the mandatory minimum sentence, the court shall | consider all relevant factors, including: |
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| A.__The nature of the criminal act; |
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| B.__Any recommendations of the victim, the victim's family | and the prosecuting attorney; |
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| C.__The defendant's prospects for rehabilitation, credible | demonstration of remorse and a comprehension of the | consequences of the defendant's actions; and |
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