Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1065 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R9444 MEW-F
2	2	By: Lucio S.B. No. 1065
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to certain sentencing procedures in a capital case.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 2(a)(1), Article 37.071, Code of
10	10	Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
11	11	(1) If a defendant is tried for a capital offense in
12	12	which the state seeks the death penalty, on a finding that the
13	13	defendant is guilty of a capital offense, the court shall conduct a
14	14	separate sentencing proceeding to determine whether the defendant
15	15	shall be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without
16	16	parole. The proceeding shall be conducted in the trial court and,
17	17	except as provided by Article 44.29(c) [of this code], before the
18	18	trial jury as soon as practicable. In the proceeding, evidence may
19	19	be presented by the state and the defendant or the defendant's
20	20	counsel as to any matter that the court deems relevant to sentence,
21	21	including evidence of the defendant's background or character or
22	22	the circumstances of the offense that mitigates against the
23	23	imposition of the death penalty. This subdivision shall not be
24	24	construed to authorize the introduction of any evidence secured in
25	25	violation of the Constitution of the United States or of the State
26	26	of Texas. The state and the defendant or the defendant's counsel
27	27	shall be permitted to present argument for or against sentence of
28	28	death. The introduction of evidence of extraneous conduct is
29	29	governed by the notice requirements of Section 3(g), Article
30	30	37.07. [The court, the attorney representing the state, the
31	31	defendant, or the defendant's counsel may not inform a juror or a
32	32	prospective juror of the effect of a failure of a jury to agree on
33	33	issues submitted under Subsection (c) or (e).]
34	34	SECTION 2. Section 2(d), Article 37.071, Code of Criminal
35	35	Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
36	36	(d) The court shall charge the jury that:
37	37	(1) it is the responsibility of each juror separately
38	38	to determine the answers to the issues submitted under Subsection
39	39	(b) and the appropriate sentence;
40	40	(2) in deliberating on the issues submitted under
41	41	Subsection (b) [of this article], each juror [it] shall
42	42	independently consider all evidence admitted at the guilt or
43	43	innocence stage and the punishment stage, including evidence of the
44	44	defendant's background or character, residual doubt, or the
45	45	circumstances of the offense that militates for or mitigates
46	46	against the imposition of the death penalty, and arrive at the
47	47	juror's own conclusion regarding the answers to the issues;
48	48	(3) the jury [(2) it] may not answer any issue
49	49	submitted under Subsection (b) [of this article] "yes" unless each
50	50	juror individually reaches an answer of "yes" [it agrees
51	51	unanimously and it may not answer any issue "no" unless 10 or more
52	52	jurors agree]; and
53	53	(4) [(3)] members of the jury need not agree on what
54	54	particular evidence supports a negative answer to any issue
55	55	submitted under Subsection (b) [of this article].
56	56	SECTION 3. Section 2(f), Article 37.071, Code of Criminal
57	57	Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
58	58	(f) The court shall charge the jury that in answering the
59	59	issue submitted under Subsection (e) [of this article, the jury]:
60	60	(1) the jury shall answer the issue "yes" or "no";
61	61	(2) each juror shall independently consider all
62	62	evidence admitted at the guilt or innocence stage and the
63	63	punishment stage, including evidence of the defendant's background
64	64	or character, residual doubt, or the circumstances of the offense
65	65	that militates for or mitigates against the imposition of the death
66	66	penalty, and arrive at the juror's own conclusion regarding the
67	67	answer to the issue;
68	68	(3) the jury may not answer the issue "no" unless each
69	69	juror individually reaches an answer of "no" [it agrees unanimously
70	70	and may not answer the issue "yes" unless 10 or more jurors agree];
71	71	(4) members of the jury [(3)] need not agree on what
72	72	particular evidence supports an affirmative finding on the issue;
73	73	and
74	74	(5) the jury [(4)] shall consider mitigating evidence
75	75	to be evidence that a juror might regard as reducing the defendant's
76	76	moral blameworthiness.
77	77	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
78	78	to a criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective
79	79	date of this Act. A criminal proceeding that commenced before the
80	80	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
81	81	date the proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in
82	82	effect for that purpose.
83	83	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.