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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 1551 By: McDugle of the House
and
Jett of the Senate
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to pris ons and reformatories;
directing the Pardon and Parole Board to establish a
Conviction Integrity Review Unit; stating purpose of
the Unit; providing for the employment of an attorney
and investigator; stating qualifications; authorizing
inmates to submit petitions to review their
convictions; specifying requirements for reviewing
convictions; authorizing the Unit to initiate certain
investigations; directing the Unit to present its
findings and recommendations to the Pardon and Parole
Board; directing the U nit to provide copies of its
report to certain agencies and persons; providing for
codification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 371 of Title 57, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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A. The Pardon and Parole Board is hereby authorized to
establish a Conviction Integrity Review Unit for purposes of
reviewing convictions of those inmates who have received death
sentences.
B. The Pardon and Parole Board shall employ and fix the duties
and compensation of an attorney, who shall be licensed to practice
law in this state and who shall have experience in crim inal cases.
The Pardon and Parole Board shall also employ and fix the duties and
compensation of an investigator, who shall be certified by the
Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training. The attorney and
investigator hired by the Board shall not be a current employee of
the Office of the Attorney General or the office of any district
attorney in this state.
C. Any inmate who has received a sentence of death in this
state shall be authorized to submit a petition to the Conviction
Integrity Review Unit requesting the review of his or her
conviction. The Pardon and Parole Board shall determine the manner
and form of the petition requesting review.
D. The Conviction Integrity Review Unit shall be authorized to
review any capital murder conviction th at occurred within this state
under the following circumstances:
1. The inmate received a sentence of death; and
2. The inmate has presented in his or her petition for review,
a plausible claim of actual innocence of the crime which is:
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a. supported by information or evidence not previously
presented, and
b. capable of being investigated and resolved; and
3. The direct appeal of the inmate has become final, a mandate
has been issued and there is no pending litigation relating to the
conviction.
E. The Conviction Integrity Review Unit shall also be
authorized to initiate an investigation to determine whether an
inmate was convicted of an offense that he or she did not commit.
F. Once an investigation has been completed by the Conviction
Integrity Review Unit, the Unit shall present its findings and
recommendations to the Pardon and Parole Board. Copies of the
report shall also be delivered to the Attorney General, the office
of the district attorney that prosecuted the criminal case, the
attorney who represented the inmate in the criminal case and the
inmate.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONS,
dated 03/01/2021 - DO PASS, As Amended and Coauthore d.