Indiana Code

Ind. Code § 35-50-2-3 (2026)

Murder

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section JustiaInd. Code CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

     Sec. 3. (a) A person who commits murder shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between forty-five (45) and sixty-five (65) years, with the advisory sentence being fifty-five (55) years. In addition, the person may be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

     (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a person who was:

(1) at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time the murder was committed may be sentenced to:

(A) death; or

(B) life imprisonment without parole; and

(2) at least sixteen (16) years of age but less than eighteen (18) years of age at the time the murder was committed may be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole;

under section 9 of this chapter unless a court determines under IC 35-36-9 that the person is an individual with an intellectual disability.

As added by Acts 1976, P.L.148, SEC.8. Amended by Acts 1977, P.L.340, SEC.116; P.L.332-1987, SEC.1; P.L.250-1993, SEC.1; P.L.164-1994, SEC.2; P.L.158-1994, SEC.5; P.L.2-1995, SEC.128; P.L.148-1995, SEC.4; P.L.117-2002, SEC.1; P.L.71-2005, SEC.6; P.L.99-2007, SEC.212; P.L.117-2015, SEC.56.

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 426 cases (24 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: Smylie v. State, 823 N.E.2d 679 (Ind. 2005).
Smylie v. State, 823 N.E.2d 679 (Ind. 2005). · cites it 8× “See Ind.Code Ann. §§ 35-50-2-3 to 7 (West 2004).”
Engelica E. Castillo v. State of Indiana, 974 N.E.2d 458 (Ind. 2012). · cites it 12× “Ind. Code § 35-50-2-3 (a). 10 are a product of your environment.”
Anglemyer v. State, 868 N.E.2d 482 (Ind. 2007). · cites it 4× “See Ind.Code §§ 35-50-2-3 to -7 (West Supp.1977).”
Sherwood v. State, 749 N.E.2d 36 (Ind. 2001). · cites it 8× “See Ind. Code § 35-50-2-3 (1993). The presumptive sentence for a Class B felony was ten years.”
Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005). · cites it 2× “2003) Indiana Ind. Code Ann. § 35-50-2-3 (2004) Kansas Kan.”
Carltez Taylor v. State of Indiana, 86 N.E.3d 157 (Ind. 2017). · cites it 4× “See I.C. §§ 35-50-2-3, -11. We leave intact Taylor’s concurrent thirty-five-year conspiracy to commit murder sentence.”
Smith v. State, 675 N.E.2d 693 (Ind. 1996). · cites it 7× “Indiana Code § 35-50-2-3 instructs a court on how to sentence a defendant convicted of murder.”
Monegan v. State, 756 N.E.2d 499 (Ind. 2001). · cites it 6× “Applicable Sentencing Statute Monegan's final claim alleges that the trial court applied the wrong version of Indiana Code § 35-50-2-3 at re-sentencing.”
Overstreet v. State, 877 N.E.2d 144 (Ind. 2007). · cites it 4× “) provides in relevant part: "If a court determines under IC 35-36-9 that a defendant who is charged with a murder for which the state seeks a death sentence is a mentally retarded individual, the court shall sentence the defendant under IC § 35-50-2-3(a)," which provides for a…”
People v. Gutierrez, 324 P.3d 245 (Cal. 2014). · cites it 2× “5(b) (West 2008); Ind. Code § 35-50-2-3 (b) (2011); N.M. Stat.”
Judy v. State, 416 N.E.2d 95 (Ind. 1981). · cites it 6× “Code § 35-13-4-1 (Burns 1975) with Ind. Code § 35-50-2-3 (Burns 1979 Repl.).”
Lambert v. State, 743 N.E.2d 719 (Ind. 2001). · cites it 2× “See Ind.Code § 35-50-2-3 (Supp.1990). 2 . Seeid.”
— Ind. Code § 35-50-2-3(a) — 59 cases
Overstreet v. State, 877 N.E.2d 144 (Ind. 2007). “) provides in relevant part: "If a court determines under IC 35-36-9 that a defendant who is charged with a murder for which the state seeks a death sentence is a mentally retarded individual, the court shall sentence the defendant under IC § 35-50-2-3(a)," which provides for a…”
Charles Stephenson v. State of Indiana, 29 N.E.3d 111 (Ind. 2015).
Ward v. State, 969 N.E.2d 46 (Ind. 2012).
Laux v. State, 821 N.E.2d 816 (Ind. 2005).
Angleton v. State, 714 N.E.2d 156 (Ind. 1999).
— Ind. Code § 35-50-2-3(a)(1993) — 1 case
Sherwood v. State, 749 N.E.2d 36 (Ind. 2001). “See Ind. Code § 35-50-2-3 (1993). The presumptive sentence for a Class B felony was ten years.”
— Ind. Code § 35-50-2-3(b) — 8 cases
Carter v. State, 711 N.E.2d 835 (Ind. 1999).
Engelica E. Castillo v. State of Indiana, 974 N.E.2d 458 (Ind. 2012). “Ind. Code § 35-50-2-3 (a). 10 are a product of your environment.”
Smallwood v. State, 773 N.E.2d 259 (Ind. 2002).
Monegan v. State, 756 N.E.2d 499 (Ind. 2001). “Applicable Sentencing Statute Monegan's final claim alleges that the trial court applied the wrong version of Indiana Code § 35-50-2-3 at re-sentencing.”
Cooper v. State, 540 N.E.2d 1216 (Ind. 1989).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.