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| 3 | 3 | | HB 1477 2022 |
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| 7 | 7 | | CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. |
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| 8 | 8 | | hb1477-00 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Page 1 of 2 |
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| 10 | 10 | | F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S |
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| 14 | 14 | | A bill to be entitled 1 |
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| 15 | 15 | | An act relating to access to DNA evidence and review 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | in capital cases; providing legislative findings and 3 |
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| 17 | 17 | | intent; amending s. 921.142, F.S.; requiring a de novo 4 |
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| 18 | 18 | | review of evidence in certain death penalty cases; 5 |
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| 19 | 19 | | amending s. 925.11, F.S.; providing that defendants 6 |
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| 20 | 20 | | sentenced to death has right to access DNA evidence 7 |
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| 21 | 21 | | without interference from specified offices; providing 8 |
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| 22 | 22 | | an effective date. 9 |
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| 23 | 23 | | 10 |
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| 24 | 24 | | Be It Enacted by the L egislature of the State of Florida: 11 |
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| 25 | 25 | | 12 |
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| 26 | 26 | | Section 1. The Legislature finds that the State of Florida 13 |
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| 27 | 27 | | leads the nation in exonerations of persons sentenced in capital 14 |
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| 28 | 28 | | cases. The intent of this act is to enable every potentially 15 |
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| 29 | 29 | | innocent individual sentenced in a capital case to exhaust every 16 |
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| 30 | 30 | | opportunity to prove his or her innocence and preserve life. 17 |
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| 31 | 31 | | Section 2. Subsection (6) of section 921.142, Florida 18 |
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| 32 | 32 | | Statutes, is amended to read: 19 |
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| 33 | 33 | | 921.142 Sentence of death or life imprisonment for capital 20 |
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| 34 | 34 | | drug trafficking felonies; further proceedings to determine 21 |
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| 35 | 35 | | sentence.— 22 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (6) REVIEW OF JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE. —The judgment of 23 |
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| 37 | 37 | | conviction and sentence of death shall be subject to automatic 24 |
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| 38 | 38 | | review and disposition rendered by the Supreme Court of Florida 25 |
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| 39 | 39 | | |
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| 40 | 40 | | HB 1477 2022 |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. |
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| 45 | 45 | | hb1477-00 |
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| 46 | 46 | | Page 2 of 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S |
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| 51 | 51 | | within 2 years after the filing of a notice of appeal. Such 26 |
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| 52 | 52 | | review by the Supreme Court shall have priority over all other 27 |
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| 53 | 53 | | cases and shall be heard in accordance with rules promulgated by 28 |
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| 54 | 54 | | the Supreme Court. The court shall review the evidence de novo 29 |
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| 55 | 55 | | if no physical evidence was presented and the conviction and 30 |
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| 56 | 56 | | sentence were largely based on witness testimony. 31 |
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| 57 | 57 | | Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 925.11, Florida 32 |
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| 58 | 58 | | Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (5), and a new subsection 33 |
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| 59 | 59 | | (4) is added to that section, to read: 34 |
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| 60 | 60 | | 925.11 Postsentencing DNA testing. — 35 |
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| 61 | 61 | | (4) PERSONS SENTENCED TO DEATH. —Notwithstanding any other 36 |
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| 62 | 62 | | provision of law, a person charged with a capital offense shall 37 |
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| 63 | 63 | | maintain his or her right to access DNA evidence without 38 |
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| 64 | 64 | | interference from the Attorney General or a state attorney. 39 |
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| 65 | 65 | | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 40 |
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