Proportionality
The availability of a sentencing range would allow judges to make individualized sentencing determinations based on the accused’s conduct and circumstances, therefore aligning the law with the principle of proportionality.
Notice
The separation of murder from accomplice murder would give defendants notice of the allegations against them, unlike prosecutions under the joint venture theory that leave the accused in the dark.
Racial Justice
The availability of a sentencing range would also eliminate a prosecutor’s ability to impose life and life-without-parole sentences without proving both an act that caused death and intent to cause death, leaving less room for biases to influence charging and jury determinations.
Accountability
A sentencing range rather than mandatory death-by-incarceration creates more space for people who have caused harm to participate in accountability-based practices like restorative and transformative justice. These practices can promote healing for both people who have caused harm and people who have lost loved ones to violence.
