Criminal Justice

HB 166 amends Pennsylvania's sentencing rules for first-degree murder cases by changing jury instructions. It requires juries to unanimously find either: (1) at least one aggravating circumstance with no mitigating circumstances, or (2) that aggravating circumstances outweigh mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt, to impose the death penalty. If these conditions aren't met, the sentence must be life imprisonment. The bill directly affects defendants convicted of first-degree murder in Pennsylvania courts and modifies the procedural steps for jury sentencing decisions under Title 42. This is a procedural change to existing sentencing law, not a policy shift altering what constitutes murder or aggravating factors.