Louisiana expands first-degree murder law after Mall of Louisiana shooting

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BATON ROUGE — A new Louisiana law is now in effect that adds changes to the state’s definition of first-degree murder.

It aims to create tougher penalties for gang-related shootings in public places following the deadly shooting at the Mall of Louisiana earlier this year.

House Bill 102 was originally created by State Rep. Jeff Wiley (R-Maurepas) to create the crime of second-degree cruelty to the elderly.

According to Attorney General Liz Murrill, the bill was intended to strengthen legal protections for elderly victims by bringing penalties more in line with those protecting children.

After the April shooting at the Mall of Louisiana, which injured five people and killed 17-year-old Martha Odom, Wiley said Gov. Jeff Landry asked for an amendment to be added to the legislation.

The amendment expands Louisiana’s first-degree murder law to include killings that occur during gang-related violence or shootings in public venues.

Sen. Alan Seabaugh, who authored the amendment to State Rep. Jeff Wiley's bill, also added the provision that first-degree murder occurs when an offender "has specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm upon a victim who is in a public place and the offender knowingly creates a risk of death or great bodily harm to three or more persons."

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore said the change addresses potential challenges prosecutors could face when trying cases involving unintended victims.

“It made it a rebuttable presumption that you had the specific intent to kill that person that eventually died, although maybe your intent was to kill someone else,” Moore said.

Moore said the law could make it easier to prosecute cases where someone other than the intended target is killed.

“[The defense could say] well, I didn’t really intend to shoot or harm this person or harm someone else. This clears that potential gap for any juror or for the prosecutor, so it surely makes it easier to prosecute this type of case, where the person who dies is not the intended target,” Moore said.

The new law also expands the definition of first-degree murder to include killings committed by offenders who are out on bail, probation or parole at the time of the crime.

House Bill 102 is one of several new Louisiana laws that took effect Aug. 1.

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