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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to certain sentencing procedures in a capital case. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 2(d) and (f), Article 37.071, Code of |
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Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows: |
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(d) The court shall charge the jury that: |
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(1) in deliberating on the issues submitted under |
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Subsection (b) [of this article], the jury [it] shall consider all |
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evidence admitted at the guilt or innocence stage and the |
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punishment stage, including evidence of the defendant's background |
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or character or the circumstances of the offense that militates for |
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or mitigates against the imposition of the death penalty; |
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(2) the jury [it] may not answer any issue submitted |
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under Subsection (b) [of this article] "yes" unless the jury [it] |
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agrees unanimously, and unless the jury answers an issue "yes" |
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unanimously, the jury shall [it may not] answer the [any] issue "no" |
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[unless 10 or more jurors agree]; and |
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(3) members of the jury need not agree on what |
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particular evidence supports a negative answer to any issue |
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submitted under Subsection (b) [of this article]. |
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(f) The court shall charge the jury that in answering the |
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issue submitted under Subsection (e) [of this article], the jury: |
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(1) shall answer the issue "yes" or "no"; |
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(2) may not answer the issue "no" unless the jury [it] |
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agrees unanimously, and unless the jury answers the issue "no" |
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unanimously, the jury shall [may not] answer the issue "yes" |
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[unless 10 or more jurors agree]; |
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(3) need not agree on what particular evidence |
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supports an affirmative finding on the issue; and |
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(4) shall consider mitigating evidence to be evidence |
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that a juror might regard as reducing the defendant's moral |
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blameworthiness. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to a criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective |
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date of this Act. A criminal proceeding that commenced before the |
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effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
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date the proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in |
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effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |