| 4 | 6 | | |
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| 5 | 7 | | |
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| 6 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 9 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 10 | | relating to certain sentencing procedures in a capital case. |
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| 9 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Sections 2(d) and (f), Article 37.071, Code of |
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| 11 | 13 | | Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 14 | | (d) The court shall charge the jury that: |
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| 13 | 15 | | (1) in deliberating on the issues submitted under |
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| 14 | 16 | | Subsection (b) [of this article], the jury [it] shall consider all |
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| 15 | 17 | | evidence admitted at the guilt or innocence stage and the |
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| 16 | 18 | | punishment stage, including evidence of the defendant's background |
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| 17 | 19 | | or character or the circumstances of the offense that militates for |
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| 18 | 20 | | or mitigates against the imposition of the death penalty; |
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| 19 | 21 | | (2) the jury [it] may not answer any issue submitted |
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| 20 | 22 | | under Subsection (b) [of this article] "yes" unless the jury [it] |
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| 21 | 23 | | agrees unanimously, and unless the jury answers an issue "yes" |
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| 22 | 24 | | unanimously, the jury shall [it may not] answer the [any] issue "no" |
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| 23 | 25 | | [unless 10 or more jurors agree]; and |
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| 24 | 26 | | (3) members of the jury need not agree on what |
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| 25 | 27 | | particular evidence supports a negative answer to any issue |
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| 26 | 28 | | submitted under Subsection (b) [of this article]. |
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| 27 | 29 | | (f) The court shall charge the jury that in answering the |
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| 28 | 30 | | issue submitted under Subsection (e) [of this article], the jury: |
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| 29 | 31 | | (1) shall answer the issue "yes" or "no"; |
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| 30 | 32 | | (2) may not answer the issue "no" unless the jury [it] |
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| 31 | 33 | | agrees unanimously, and unless the jury answers the issue "no" |
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| 32 | 34 | | unanimously, the jury shall [may not] answer the issue "yes" |
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| 33 | 35 | | [unless 10 or more jurors agree]; |
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| 34 | 36 | | (3) need not agree on what particular evidence |
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| 35 | 37 | | supports an affirmative finding on the issue; and |
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| 36 | 38 | | (4) shall consider mitigating evidence to be evidence |
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| 37 | 39 | | that a juror might regard as reducing the defendant's moral |
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| 38 | 40 | | blameworthiness. |
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| 39 | 41 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 40 | 42 | | to a criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective |
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| 41 | 43 | | date of this Act. A criminal proceeding that commenced before the |
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| 42 | 44 | | effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
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| 43 | 45 | | date the proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in |
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| 44 | 46 | | effect for that purpose. |
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| 45 | 47 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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