Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §152, sub-§4, as amended by PL 1995, c. 422, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

4.__Criminal attempt is an offense classified as one grade less serious than the classification of the offense attempted, except that an attempt to commit a Class E crime is a Class E crime and an attempt to commit murder is a Class A crime.

Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §152-A is enacted to read:

§152-A.__Aggravated attempted murder

1.__A person is guilty of aggravated attempted murder if that person commits attempted murder and, at the time of that person's actions, one or more of the following aggravating circumstances is in fact present:

A.__The person's intent to kill was accompanied by premeditation-in-fact;

B.__The person, at the time of the crime, intended to cause multiple deaths;

C.__The person was previously convicted of criminal homicide or any other crime involving the use of deadly force against a person;

D.__The attempted murder was accompanied by torture, sexual assault or other extreme cruelty inflicted upon the victim;

E.__The attempted murder was committed in a penal institution by an inmate of that institution against another inmate or against prison personnel;

F.__The attempted murder was committed against a law enforcement officer while the officer was acting in performance of that officer's duties; or

G.__The attempted murder was committed against a hostage.

2.__Aggravated attempted murder is a Class A crime except that, notwithstanding section 1252, subsection 2, the sentence for aggravated attempted murder is imprisonment for life or a definite period of imprisonment for any term of years.__The existence of an aggravating circumstance serves only as a precondition for the court to consider a life sentence.