81R15993 GCB-D
By: Farrar, Riddle, Coleman, Pierson, H.B. No. 3318
Naishtat
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3318:
By: Kent C.S.H.B. No. 3318
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the punishment of certain parents for the murder of the
parent's infant.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 19.02, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(c) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (d) and
(e), an offense under this section is a felony of the first degree.
(e) At the punishment stage of a trial in which a defendant
has been found guilty of causing the death of a child to whom the
defendant gave birth within the 12-month period preceding the
child's death, the defendant may raise the issue as to whether the
defendant caused the child's death because the defendant's judgment
was impaired as a result of the effects of giving birth or the
effects of lactation following the birth. If the defendant proves
the issue in the affirmative by a preponderance of the evidence, the
offense is a state jail felony.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to a
trial that commences on or after the effective date of this Act,
regardless of whether the alleged offense was committed before, on,
or after that date. A trial that commenced before the effective
date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the trial
commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.