Bill > H3394

This bill amends South Carolina's existing law on homicide by child abuse by expanding the definition of a "child" from under eleven years old to under eighteen years old. The bill maintains the core provisions of the previous law, which makes it a felony to cause the death of a child while committing child abuse or neglect, or to knowingly aid and abet another person in such actions. The law defines child abuse or neglect as any act that causes harm to a child's physical health or welfare, including physical injury, failure to provide basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter, or healthcare, or abandonment that results in the child's death. The bill preserves the existing sentencing guidelines, which provide for imprisonment of life or at least twenty years for direct perpetrators, and ten to twenty years for those who aid and abet such actions. The legislation also requires judges to consider aggravating circumstances in sentencing, such as a pattern of child abuse, while explicitly stating that a child's crying does not constitute a mitigating circumstance. The bill will take effect upon approval by the Governor.

Justice

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=3394&session=126&summary=B