PETITION OF:

SECTION 1.

The first paragraph of Section 133A of Chapter 127 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting in line 4 after the word “except” the following words: -- prisoners serving a life sentence pursuant to the provisions of Section 25 of Chapter 279, and except.

SECTION 2.

Chapter 279 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out Section 25, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition and inserting in place thereof the following section.

Section 25. For purposes of this section the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“Convicted”, (i) the entry of judgment of guilty in the courts of the Commonwealth; (ii) the entry of a judgment of guilty of any offense of any other jurisdiction, federal, state, or territorial, which is the same as or necessarily includes the elements of any violent felony or other offense enumerated in this section; or (iii) the entry of a judgment or adjudication of delinquency in the courts of the Commonwealth by reason of having committed any violent felony or other offense enumerated in this section, or a judgment or adjudication of delinquency or its equivalent in any other jurisdiction, federal, state, or territorial, by reason of having committed an offense which is the same as or necessarily includes the elements of any violent felony or other offense enumerated in this section.

“Substantial bodily injury”, bodily injury which creates a permanent disfigurement, protracted loss or impairment of a function or a body member, limb or organ, or substantial risk of death.

“Violent felony” and ‘prior violent felony”, a violation of sections 1, 13, 13B, 13C, 13F, 13L, 14, 15, 15A, 15B, 16, 17, 18, 18A, 22, 22A, 24, 24B, 26, or 28 or Chapter 265, or of Section 1 or 14 of Chapter 266, provided, however, that any combination of such felonies which is based on the same criminal conduct or episode or arises out of the same course of conduct shall be deemed to constitute a single violent felony or prior violent felony; and provided, further, that a violation of Section 15A or of Section 15B of said Chapter 265 shall be deemed to be a violent felony or prior violent felony only if such violation resulted in substantial bodily injury of involved the use of a firearm or a dangerous weapon described in Paragraph (b) of Section 10 of Chapter 269.

(a) Any person who is convicted of a violent felony, and at the time of such conviction has been convicted of two prior violent felonies, committed on occasions different from one another, shall, upon conviction of such violent felony, be adjudicated to be a habitual violent felon and be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life. No such person shall be eligible for parole under Section 133A of Chapter 127 while he is serving such life sentence, but if his sentence is commuted under the provisions of Section 152 of said Chapter 127, he shall thereafter be subject to the provisions of law governing parole for persons sentenced for lesser offenses.

The applicability of this section shall be determined only after the entry of a judgment of guilty based on the commission of a violent felony. It shall not be necessary to plead in the indictment or prove at trial the existence of the two previous convictions necessary for applying the provisions of this Section.

Prior to accepting a plea of guilty to a violent felony which shall result in a sentence of life imprisonment under the provisions of this Section, the judge shall ascertain, and make an appropriate finding in the court record, that the defendant fully understands the consequences of his plea in accordance with the provisions of Rule 12 of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure of any other applicable law.

Prior to imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment under the provisions of this section, the defendant shall be entitled to a hearing at which the Commonwealth shall have the burden of proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, the applicability of the provisions of this section. At such hearing, a certified copy of a conviction of a prior violent felony of the defendant shall create a rebuttable presumption that the Commonwealth has met its burden of proof under this paragraph with respect to such prior violent felony.

(b) Any person who is convicted of violating Section 1, 13, 15, 16, 17, 22, 22A, or 23 of Chapter 265, and at the time of committing of such offense has previously been convicted of a violation of any of the above offenses, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for a term of not less than fifteen years.

(c) Any person who is convicted of a crime has been convicted within the preceding ten years of three prior crimes that are punishable by imprisonment for six months or more and that do not arise from the same course of conduct or episode, shall be considered an habitual offender and shall be punished by imprisonment for the maximum term of years provided by law for the crime for which he is then to be sentenced.

Section 3.

Section 2 of this act shall apply to any person convicted of a violent felony or crime for acts committed on or after the effective date of this act, irrespective of the date of commission or conviction of any prior violent felony or crime necessary for the application of the provisions of said Section 2 of the act.