Abolishes the death penalty and specifies that any person sentenced to death must be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole

HB 1846 eliminates the death penalty in Missouri by mandating that anyone convicted of first-degree murder receive a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, unless the governor grants clemency. The bill repeals existing statutes related to capital punishment and establishes new legal classifications for felonies and misdemeanors to align with this change. It also outlines procedures for sentencing, including how cases are tried and how punishments are assessed when a defendant is found guilty of homicide. This legislation directly affects the criminal justice system by removing execution as a legal penalty and ensuring that all murder convictions result in lifelong incarceration.