| SB 1047 | Mentally retarded persons may not receive death penalty; provides hearing procedure |
| Sponsor: | Rohrbach | |||
| LR Number: | 4543S.02C | Fiscal Note: | 4543-02 | |
| Committee: | Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence | |||
| Last Action: | 05/12/00 - S Inf Calendar S Bills for Perfection | Journal page: | ||
| Title: | SCS SB 1047 | |||
| Effective Date: | August 28, 2000 | |||
SCS/SB 1047 - This act excludes mentally retarded
individuals convicted of murder in the first degree from
receiving the death penalty, and establishes the procedure for a
hearing to determine mental retardation if so alleged. The act
allows a judge or jury to determine the issue of mental
retardation by a preponderance of the evidence during the
sentencing phase of the capital case, unless the parties agree to
pretrial determination of the issue. If a pretrial determination
is detrimental to the defendant, the parties may still present
the issue during the sentencing stage of the trial.
DAVID TALLMAN
SCA 1 - CREATES PROCEDURE FOR CONVICTED PERSONS TO CHALLENGE CONVICTION BASED ON DNA EVIDENCE.