Violent habitual offender; require jury determination.

SB 2227 would require a jury, rather than a judge, to decide whether to impose life imprisonment without parole on individuals convicted of a felony who have two prior felony convictions (including at least one "crime of violence") and served at least one year in prison for each prior conviction. The bill mandates a separate sentencing hearing where the jury must consider specific aggravating factors (like prior violent acts or targeting government functions) and mitigating factors (such as mental health or substance abuse issues) and unanimously find that aggravating factors outweigh mitigating ones to justify life imprisonment. If the jury does not choose life, the court would sentence the defendant to the maximum term allowed for the current felony. The bill, which died in committee, was intended to take effect on July 1, 2026.