| 12 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 13 | 9 | | SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as Lauren's Law. |
|---|
| 14 | 10 | | SECTION 2. Section 19.03(a), Penal Code, is amended to read |
|---|
| 15 | 11 | | as follows: |
|---|
| 16 | 12 | | (a) A person commits an offense if the person commits murder |
|---|
| 17 | 13 | | as defined under Section 19.02(b)(1) and: |
|---|
| 18 | 14 | | (1) the person murders a peace officer or fireman who |
|---|
| 19 | 15 | | is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty and who the |
|---|
| 20 | 16 | | person knows is a peace officer or fireman; |
|---|
| 21 | 17 | | (2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the |
|---|
| 22 | 18 | | course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, |
|---|
| 23 | 19 | | robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction or |
|---|
| 24 | 20 | | retaliation, or terroristic threat under Section 22.07(a)(1), (3), |
|---|
| 25 | 21 | | (4), (5), or (6); |
|---|
| 26 | 22 | | (3) the person commits the murder for remuneration or |
|---|
| 27 | 23 | | the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder |
|---|
| 28 | 24 | | for remuneration or the promise of remuneration; |
|---|
| 29 | 25 | | (4) the person commits the murder while escaping or |
|---|
| 30 | 26 | | attempting to escape from a penal institution; |
|---|
| 31 | 27 | | (5) the person, while incarcerated in a penal |
|---|
| 32 | 28 | | institution, murders another: |
|---|
| 33 | 29 | | (A) who is employed in the operation of the penal |
|---|
| 34 | 30 | | institution; or |
|---|
| 35 | 31 | | (B) with the intent to establish, maintain, or |
|---|
| 36 | 32 | | participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination; |
|---|
| 37 | 33 | | (6) the person: |
|---|
| 38 | 34 | | (A) while incarcerated for an offense under this |
|---|
| 39 | 35 | | section or Section 19.02, murders another; or |
|---|
| 40 | 36 | | (B) while serving a sentence of life imprisonment |
|---|
| 41 | 37 | | or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section 20.04, 22.021, or |
|---|
| 42 | 38 | | 29.03, murders another; |
|---|
| 43 | 39 | | (7) the person murders more than one person: |
|---|
| 44 | 40 | | (A) during the same criminal transaction; or |
|---|
| 45 | 41 | | (B) during different criminal transactions but |
|---|
| 46 | 42 | | the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of |
|---|
| 47 | 43 | | conduct; |
|---|
| 53 | 47 | | for or on account of the service or status of the other person as a |
|---|
| 54 | 48 | | judge or justice of the supreme court, the court of criminal |
|---|
| 55 | 49 | | appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal district |
|---|
| 56 | 50 | | court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county court, a |
|---|
| 57 | 51 | | justice court, or a municipal court. |
|---|
| 58 | | - | SECTION 3. Section 1, Article 37.071, Code of Criminal |
|---|
| 59 | | - | Procedure, is amended to read as follows: |
|---|
| 60 | | - | Sec. 1. (a) If a defendant is found guilty in a capital |
|---|
| 61 | | - | felony case in which the state does not seek the death penalty, the |
|---|
| 62 | | - | judge shall sentence the defendant to life imprisonment or to life |
|---|
| 63 | | - | imprisonment without parole as required by Section 12.31, Penal |
|---|
| 64 | | - | Code. |
|---|
| 65 | | - | (b) A defendant who is found guilty of an offense under |
|---|
| 66 | | - | Section 19.03(a)(9), Penal Code, may not be sentenced to death, and |
|---|
| 67 | | - | the state may not seek the death penalty in any case based solely on |
|---|
| 68 | | - | an offense under that subdivision. |
|---|
| 69 | | - | SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|---|
| 52 | + | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|---|