All of the circumstances detailed above regarding the elements of the offense of premeditated murder, regarding the existence of a decision to kill, prior planning and preparatory acts, and the fact that these were acts committed in cold blood and not in the heat of the moment, are also relevant for the purpose of the circumstances set forth in section 301A(a)(1) of the Law; There is no doubt that the death of the deceased, in our case, is an act that was "done after planning or after an actual process of weighing and formulating a decision to kill."
More than necessary, I will note that in my opinion, our matter even falls within the scope of section 301A(a)(7) of the Law, since the deceased was beaten severely, while throwing stones, even while he was lying on the floor begging for his life, and beating him again after he regained consciousness; As well as setting fire to his car while it was lying in it, while demonstrating a lack of interest and equanimity as to whether he was alive or dead at the time of the arson, express an act that was "committed with special cruelty, or with physical or mental abuse of the victim."
I will add that even what is stated in section 301a(b) of the law as it is currently worded does not help the defendants. According to the section, even in a case where it is found that one of the aggravating circumstances in section 301A(a) exists, the court may, for special reasons to be recorded, determine that "there are special circumstances for which the act does not express a particularly serious degree of guilt", and convict the defendant under the offense of aggravated murder in the "basic" offense of murderAccording to Article 300, which is punishable by life imprisonment as the maximum punishment. The explanatory notes emphasize that the reference is to individual cases in which the unique circumstances of the act do not reflect the particularly serious and high degree of guilt that characterizes the offense of murder in aggravated circumstances, so that it would not be justified to convict of this offense (such as murder motivated by compassion); and that these are not considerations external to the circumstances of the act, such as the personal circumstances of the defendant (the bill at pp. 173-174).