Ch. 677

LAWS OF MARYLAND

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments,

Article 27 - Crimes and Punishments

Section 412

Annotated Code of Maryland

(1987 Replacement Volume and 1988 Supplement)

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

Article 27 - Crimes and Punishments

412.

(a)   If a person is found guilty of murder, the court or
jury that determined the person's guilt shall state in the
verdict whether the person is guilty of murder in the first
degree or murder in the second degree.

(b)  Except as provided under subsection (d) of this
section, a person found guilty of murder in the first degree
shall be sentenced to death, imprisonment for life, or
imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole. The
sentence shall be imprisonment for life unless: (1) (i) the State
notified the person in writing at least 30 days prior to trial
that it intended to seek a sentence of death, and advised the
person of each aggravating circumstance upon which it intended to
rely, and (ii) a sentence of death is imposed in accordance with
§ 413; or (2) the State notified the person in writing at least
30 days prior to trial that it intended to seek a sentence of
imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole under §
412 or § 413 of this article.

(c)  A person found guilty of murder in the second degree
shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 30 years.

(d)  Except as provided by § 413 of this article, the court
shall decide whether to impose a sentence of life imprisonment or
life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

(e)  (1) In this section, ["imprisonment] THE FOLLOWING
TERMS HAVE THE MEANINGS INDICATED.

(2)   "IMPRISONMENT for life without the possibility of
parole" means imprisonment for the natural life of an inmate
under the custody of a correctional institution, including the
Patuxent Institution.

(3)   "MENTALLY RETARDED" MEANS THE INDIVIDUAL HAS
SIGNIFICANTLY SUBAVERAGE INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONING AS EVIDENCED BY
AN INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT OF 70 OR BELOW ON AN INDIVIDUALLY
ADMINISTERED INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT TEST AND IMPAIRMENT IN

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