Capital Punishment Related Legislation Filed in the 79th Texas Legislature -
2005
Legislation filed as of February 27, 2005.
One new bill this week. Two bills on this list will be heard in committee
this week, 1) HB 93 in House Corrections Committee on Thursday, Relating to
showing the cause of death on the death certificate of an inmate of the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice who is lawfully executed; and 2) HB 268
in House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Tuesday, Relating to the
qualifications and appointment of counsel for indigent defendants in capital
cases.
New Bill:
SB 741 Author: Ellis
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/24/2005 S Filed
Relating to the decertification of a capital case.
Would allow court, before punishment phase of trial, to decertify a case as
a capital case, if the court finds that the only evidence supporting the
defendant's conviction is uncorroborated testimony of an inmate informant
or a single eyewitness or single accomplice.
Bills being heard in committee this week:
HB 93 Author: Riddle
Last Action: Scheduled for public hearing on 03/03/2005 in
Corrections
Relating to showing the cause of death on the death certificate of
an inmate of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice who is
lawfully executed.
Current death certificates of executed people list cause of death as
"Homicide".
HB 268 Author: Keel
Last Action: Scheduled for public hearing on March 1, 2005 in
Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the qualifications and appointment of counsel for
indigent defendants in capital cases.
Here is a link to a table of these bills. This table has live links to bill
text, authors and status pages.
http://www.texasmoratorium.org/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=
809&page_id=8&group=1
The normal meeting day for hearings in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee
will be Tuesdays at 1 PM. The normal meeting days for hearings in the House
Criminal Jurisprudence Committee will be Tuesdays at 2 PM. Hearings on
specific bills are announced the week before the scheduled hearing. The
House Committee on Corrections (one bill has been referred here: Riddle's HB
93) usually will meet on Thursdays at 10:30 AM.
There will be more bills filed in the coming weeks.
If you have questions, email [email protected] or call 512-302-6715.
Total Number of Bills: 36
HB 48 Author: Keel
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 01/27/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to disposal of an exhibit in a capital case.
Exhibits could be disposed of five years after death of a defendant.
HB 61 Author: McClendon
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 01/27/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the punishment for a capital felony committed by a
person who
is younger than 18 years of age at the time of committing the
felony.
HB 66 Author: McClendon
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 01/27/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the punishment for a capital offense.
Life Without Parole Bill
HB 93 Author: Riddle
Sponsor: none
Last Action: Scheduled for public hearing on 03/03/2005 in
Corrections
Relating to showing the cause of death on the death certificate of
an inmate of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice who is
lawfully executed.
Current death certificates of executed people list cause of death as
"Homicide".
HB 268 Author: Keel
Last Action: Scheduled for public hearing on March 1, 2005 in
Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the qualifications and appointment of counsel for
indigent defendants in capital cases.
HB 284 Author: Goolsby (Republican)
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/02/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the punishment for a capital offense.
Life Without Parole Bill (offers three options: Life, LWOP and Death)
HB 333 Author: Burnam
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/02/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the punishment for a capital felony committed by a
person who is younger than 18 years of age at the time of
committing the felony.
Burnam was first legislator to file this bill back in 2001. Supreme Court
may issue ruling on this issue anytime now, probably before end of session.
HB 408 Author: Dutton
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/03/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to jury selection in capital cases.
Would require a separate jury panel for the punishment phase in death
penalty cases.
HB 419 Author: Keel
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/03/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the applicability of the death penalty to a capital
offense committed by a person with mental retardation.
Prosecutors' Version would decide on mental retardation after conviction,
not before the trial as the bill by Sen Ellis.
HB 431 Author: Dutton
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/03/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the admissibility of certain evidence in capital cases
in which the state seeks the death penalty.
Interesting bill that would require jailhouse confessions to be corroborated
by a recording, and prohibits accomplice testimony given in exchange for
leniency.
HB 432 Author: Dutton
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/03/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the creation of a commission to study capital
punishment in Texas and to a moratorium on executions.
Would create a statewide moratorium and death penalty study commission.
HB 434 Author: Dutton
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/03/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the punishment for a capital felony committed by a
person who is younger than 18 years of age at the time of
committing the felony.
HB 450 Author: Dutton
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/03/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the admissibility of certain confessions in capital
cases.
Requires confessions in capital cases to be visually recorded.
HB 452 Author: Dutton
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/03/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the abolition of the death penalty.
Abolition bill. Dutton first filed this bill in 2003.
HB 454 Author: Dutton
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/07/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the punishment for a capital offense.
Life without parole bill
HB 456 Author: Dutton
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/07/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the punishment for a capital offense.
Life without parole bill
HB 458 Author: Dutton
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/07/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to standards for judicial review of certain writs of
habeas corpus in capital cases.
by "a preponderance of the evidence" ( instead of the current phrase "clear
and convincing"), but for a violation of the United States Constitution no
rational juror would have answered in the state's favor one or more of the
special issues that were submitted to the jury in the
applicant's trial.
HB 493 Author: Naishtat
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/07/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the creation of a commission to study capital
punishment in Texas.
Would create a study commission without a moratorium.
HB 618 Author: Thompson
Last Action: Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence 02/08/2005
Relating to the creation of a commission to investigate and
prevent wrongful convictions.
House Version of Innocence Commission bill.
HB 696 Author: Dutton
Last Action: Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence 02/08/2005
Relating to jury selection in capital cases
Would require separate jury panel for penalty phase of capital trials
HB 966 Author: Haggerty
Last Action: 02/14/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Relating to the murder of a commissioned security officer as a
capital offense.
Would expand crimes eligible for the death penalty to include the murder of
a security officer. Haggerty filed this bill in 2003, but it "failed to
receive an affirmative vote" in the Committee on Law Enforcement.
HJR14 Author: Naishtat
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/08/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Proposing a constitutional amendment relating to a moratorium on
the
execution of persons convicted of capital offenses.
If approved by the voters of Texas at a general election in November 2005,
would give the governor power to call a moratorium, but would not create a
moratorium unless the governor called for one.
HJR24 Author: McClendon
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/08/2005 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Proposing a constitutional amendment establishing a moratorium in
death penalty cases in which analyses performed by a crime
laboratory operated by the City of Houston Police Department were
admitted into evidence.
Would create a moratorium only in cases involving the HPD crime lab (Harris
County). Like all proposed constitutional amendments, this would require
approval by the voters at a general election. This amendment would probably
stand a good chance of passing such a vote.
SB 60 Author: Lucio / et al.
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 01/31/2005 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Relating to the punishment for a capital offense.
Life Without Parole Bill in Senate, where Lucio has been the prime author.
Now joined by Ellis and Hinojosa.
SB 65 Author: Staples
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 01/31/2005 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Relating to the applicability of the death penalty to a capital
offense committed by a person with mental retardation.
Prosecutors' version of mental retardation bill that would establish mental
retardation decision after the jury has convicted the person.
SB 85 Author: Ellis / et al.
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 01/31/2005 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Relating to the applicability of the death penalty to a capital
offense committed by a person with mental retardation.
Would establish mental retardation during a hearing before the trial begins
SB 86 Author: Ellis, Co-authors Barrientos, Lucio
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 01/31/2005 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Relating to compensation for wrongful imprisonment.
This and the following bills would apply to all wrongful convictions, not
just death penalty cases.
Would raise amount of compensation to $50,000 per year of wrongful
imprisonment up to a maximum of $1,000,000.
SB 87 Author: Ellis, Co-author Lucio
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 01/31/2005 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Relating to the administrative procedure for compensation for
wrongful imprisonment.
Would remove the requirement that a letter be written by prosecuting
district attorney before compensation can be given.
SB 223 Author Ellis
Referred to Criminal Justice 02/03/2005
Relating to the creation of a commission to investigate and
prevent wrongful convictions
Innocence Commissionn bill, first filed anywhere in the U.S. by Ellis in
2003. Would study individual cases of wrongful convictions to determine what
went wrong and how such mistakes could be avoided.
SB 226 Author: Ellis
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/03/2005 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Relating to the punishment for a capital felony committed by a
person who is younger than 18 years of age at the time of
committing the felony.
Senate version of bill to ban executions of juvenile offenders
SB 228 Author: Ellis
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/03/2005 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Relating to the authority of the governor to grant one or more
reprieves in a capital case.
Companion bill to SJR 11: Would allow more than one 30 day reprieve to be
issued by Governor. Could also be used to establish a de facto moratorium.
SB 231 Author: Ellis
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/03/2005 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Relating to the applicability of the death penalty to a capital
offense committed by a person with mental retardation.
Also would establish mental retardation status before trial begins.
SB 544 Author: Shapleigh
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/16/2005 S Filed
Relating to the creation of a commission to study capital
punishment in Texas.
Senate version of HB493 by Naishtat.
SB 548 Author: Ellis
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/16/2005 S Filed
Relating to the manner in which the Board of Pardons and Paroles
performs duties related to clemency in capital cases.
Would require that the BPP meet in person when dealing with death penalty
cases.
SJR11 Author: Ellis
Sponsor: none
Last Action: 02/07/2005 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the governor to
grant one or more reprieves in a capital case.
Requires approval at general election. Would allow more than one 30 day
reprieve to be issued by Governor. Could also be used to establish a de
facto moratorium.
