---
title: O.C.G.A. § 17-10-31.1. Requirement of jury finding of aggravating circumstance and recommendation of sentence of death or life without parole; duties of judge; jury instruction on meaning of ‘‘life without parole’’ and ‘‘life imprisonment.’’
collection: code
id: 17-10-31.1
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 17-10-31.1 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-10-31.1
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-10-31.1.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-10-31.1/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t17-(v15)-2020-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=8c04ccfe_0#page=1233
date: 2025
status: repealed
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-10.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-10-31.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-10-32.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: false
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: CRIMINAL PROCEDURE / SENTENCE AND PUNISHMENT / DEATH PENALTY GENERALLY
extraction_warnings:
  - status_from_toc:repealed
---

# O.C.G.A. § 17-10-31.1. Requirement of jury finding of aggravating circumstance and recommendation of sentence of death or life without parole; duties of judge; jury instruction on meaning of ‘‘life without parole’’ and ‘‘life imprisonment.’’

No text is printed for this repealed section.

## History

Repealed by Ga. L. 2009, p. 223, § 6/SB 13, effective April 29, 2009.

## Editor's Notes

This Code section was based on Code 1981, § 17-10-31.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 1654, § 5.

Ga. L. 2009, p. 223, § 8/SB 13, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: ‘‘Except as provided in this section, the provisions of this Act shall apply only to those offenses committed after the effective date of this Act. With express written consent of the state, an accused whose offense was committed prior to the effective date of this Act may elect in writing to be sentenced under the provisions of this Act, provided that: (1) jeopardy for the offense charged has not attached or (2) the accused has been sentenced to death but the conviction or sentence has been reversed on appeal and the state is not barred from seeking prosecution after the remand.’’ This Act became effective April 29, 2009.

Ga. L. 2009, p. 223, § 9/SB 13, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: ‘‘Except as provided in Section 8 of this Act, the amendment or repeal of a Code section by this Act shall not affect any sentence imposed by any court of this state prior to the effective date of this Act.’’

Ga. L. 2009, p. 223, § 10/SB 13, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: ‘‘A person may be sentenced to life without parole without the prosecutor seeking the death penalty under the laws of this state.’’ Ga. L. 2011, p. 752, § 17(3) codified these provisions at Code Section 17-10-16.1.

Ga. L. 2009, p. 223, § 11(a)/SB 13, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the law as set forth in Section 4 of this Act as it existed prior to April 29, 2009, shall apply to all offenses committed on and before April 29, 2009.

Ga. L. 2009, p. 223, § 11(b)/SB 13, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: ‘‘The provisions of this Act shall not affect or abate the status as a crime of any such act or omission which occurred prior to the effective date of the Act repealing, repealing and reenacting, or amending such law, nor shall the prosecution of such crime be abated as a result of such repeal, repeal and reenactment, or amendment.’’