The Louisiana Senate has responded to last month’s fatal mass shooting at the Mall of Louisiana by passing legislation that would result in a death penalty charge the next time a gunman fires his or her gun at a crowd of people and kills someone. Shreveport Senator Alan Seabaugh added an amendment to a House-approved bill that expands the definition of first-degree murder to such a situation.
“The act of pointing and discharging a firearm at another human being constitutes specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm upon that person,” Seabaugh noted.
Seabaugh says the way the legislation is written, the death penalty would still be on the table for the defendant even if he or she shoots an unintended target.
“What happened in the Mall of Louisiana, is an innocent person was shot while the perpetrator was trying to shoot somebody else. And it’s taking away that ‘I didn’t mean to kill her, I meant to kill him,” Seabaugh explained.
On April 23rd, 17-year-old Martha Odom of Lafayette Parish was fatally shot when another teenager allegedly shot at a group of people. Odom was one of six people shot. Investigators say she was an innocent bystander.
First-degree murder charges are usually handed down if a person kills another person while also committing a felony. There was very little discussion when Seabaugh brought the amendment up for a vote.
“It’s saying, ‘If you point a firearm into a crowd of people and pull the trigger, that shall constitute specific intent to kill, regardless of who you actually hit,” Seabaugh said.
The legislation passed on a 35-0 vote and heads to the House floor for concurrence.