Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB316 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R2323 KJE-D
2	2	By: Canales H.B. No. 316
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the extent of a defendant's criminal responsibility for
8	8	the conduct of another in capital felony cases.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 1, Article 37.071, Code of Criminal
11	11	Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 1. (a) If a defendant is found guilty in a capital
13	13	felony case in which the state does not seek the death penalty, the
14	14	judge shall sentence the defendant to life imprisonment or to life
15	15	imprisonment without parole as required by Section 12.31, Penal
16	16	Code.
17	17	(b) A defendant who is found guilty in a capital felony case
18	18	only as a party under Section 7.02, Penal Code, may not be sentenced
19	19	to death, and the state may not seek the death penalty in any case in
20	20	which the defendant's liability is based solely on that section.
21	21	SECTION 2. Sections 2(b), (c), (d), and (g), Article
22	22	37.071, Code of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
23	23	(b) On conclusion of the presentation of the evidence, the
24	24	court shall instruct [submit the following issues to] the jury to
25	25	determine [:
26	26	[(1)] whether there is a probability that the
27	27	defendant would commit criminal acts of violence that would
28	28	constitute a continuing threat to society[; and
29	29	[(2) in cases in which the jury charge at the guilt or
30	30	innocence stage permitted the jury to find the defendant guilty as a
31	31	party under Sections 7.01 and 7.02, Penal Code, whether the
32	32	defendant actually caused the death of the deceased or did not
33	33	actually cause the death of the deceased but intended to kill the
34	34	deceased or another or anticipated that a human life would be
35	35	taken].
36	36	(c) The state must prove the [each] issue submitted under
37	37	Subsection (b) [of this article] beyond a reasonable doubt, and the
38	38	jury shall return a special verdict of "yes" or "no" on that [each]
39	39	issue [submitted under Subsection (b) of this Article].
40	40	(d) The court shall charge the jury that:
41	41	(1) in deliberating on the issue [issues] submitted
42	42	under Subsection (b) [of this article], it shall consider all
43	43	evidence admitted at the guilt or innocence stage and the
44	44	punishment stage, including evidence of the defendant's background
45	45	or character or the circumstances of the offense that militates for
46	46	or mitigates against the imposition of the death penalty;
47	47	(2) it may not answer the [any] issue submitted under
48	48	Subsection (b) [of this article] "yes" unless it agrees unanimously
49	49	and it may not answer the [any] issue "no" unless 10 or more jurors
50	50	agree; and
51	51	(3) members of the jury need not agree on what
52	52	particular evidence supports a negative answer to the [any] issue
53	53	submitted under Subsection (b) [of this article].
54	54	(g) If the jury returns an affirmative finding on the [each]
55	55	issue submitted under Subsection (b) and a negative finding on the
56	56	[an] issue submitted under Subsection (e)(1), the court shall
57	57	sentence the defendant to death. If the jury returns a negative
58	58	finding on the [any] issue submitted under Subsection (b) or an
59	59	affirmative finding on the [an] issue submitted under Subsection
60	60	(e)(1) or is unable to answer an [any] issue submitted under
61	61	Subsection (b) or (e), the court shall sentence the defendant to
62	62	confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life
63	63	imprisonment without parole.
64	64	SECTION 3. Section 2(e)(1), Article 37.071, Code of
65	65	Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
66	66	(e)(1) The court shall instruct the jury that if the jury
67	67	returns an affirmative finding to the [each] issue submitted under
68	68	Subsection (b), it shall determine whether [answer the following
69	69	issue:
70	70	[Whether], taking into consideration all of the evidence,
71	71	including the circumstances of the offense, the defendant's
72	72	character and background, and the personal moral culpability of the
73	73	defendant, there is a sufficient mitigating circumstance or
74	74	circumstances to warrant that a sentence of life imprisonment
75	75	without parole rather than a death sentence be imposed.
76	76	SECTION 4. Section 2, Article 37.0711, Code of Criminal
77	77	Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
78	78	Sec. 2. (a) If a defendant is found guilty in a case in
79	79	which the state does not seek the death penalty, the judge shall
80	80	sentence the defendant to life imprisonment.
81	81	(b) A defendant who is found guilty in a capital felony case
82	82	only as a party under Section 7.02, Penal Code, may not be sentenced
83	83	to death, and the state may not seek the death penalty in any case in
84	84	which the defendant's liability is based solely on that section.
85	85	SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies to a
86	86	criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective date
87	87	of this Act. A criminal proceeding that commences before the
88	88	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
89	89	proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for
90	90	that purpose.
91	91	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.