Introduced Version, Senate Bill 0096:
Bifurcated sentencing. Allows a court to impose a sentence greater than the presumptive sentence only if: (1) the state proves the existence of an aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt; or (2) the defendant has one or more prior unrelated convictions.
I believe this proposed legislation is Indiana’s answer to the Supreme Court’s Blakely decision that has the federal sentencing structure in such a mess. My understanding is that Indiana didn’t really have a problem with its current structure. Maybe this is a “better safe than sorry” approach. Or, maybe my assumptions are wrong.
Leave a Reply