Bill Text: TX HB72 | 2013 | 83rd Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the punishment for a capital felony committed by an individual younger than 18 years of age.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-06-18 - Left pending in committee [HB72 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB72-Introduced.html
| 83S10456 KEL-D | ||
| By: Canales | H.B. No. 72 | |
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| relating to the punishment for a capital felony committed by an | ||
| individual younger than 18 years of age. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 12.31, Penal Code, is amended to read as | ||
| follows: | ||
| Sec. 12.31. CAPITAL FELONY. (a) An individual adjudged | ||
| guilty of a capital felony in a case in which the state seeks the | ||
| death penalty shall be punished by imprisonment in the Texas | ||
| Department of Criminal Justice for life without parole or by | ||
| death. An individual adjudged guilty of a capital felony in a case | ||
| in which the state does not seek the death penalty shall be punished | ||
| by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for: | ||
| (1) a term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 | ||
| years [ |
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| than 18 years of age [ |
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| (2) life without parole, if the individual committed | ||
| the offense when 18 years of age or older. | ||
| (b) In a capital felony trial in which the state seeks the | ||
| death penalty, prospective jurors shall be informed that a sentence | ||
| of life imprisonment without parole or death is mandatory on | ||
| conviction of a capital felony. In a capital felony trial in which | ||
| the state does not seek the death penalty, prospective jurors shall | ||
| be informed that the state is not seeking the death penalty and | ||
| that: | ||
| (1) a sentence of [ |
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| more than 99 years or less than 25 years is mandatory on conviction | ||
| of the capital felony, if the individual committed the offense when | ||
| younger than 18 years of age [ |
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| (2) a sentence of life imprisonment without parole is | ||
| mandatory on conviction of the capital felony, if the individual | ||
| committed the offense when 18 years of age or older. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 12.42, Penal Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Subsection (e) to read as follows: | ||
| (e) For purposes of this section, a person convicted of a | ||
| capital felony who is punished by imprisonment for a term of not | ||
| more than 99 years or less than 25 years is considered to have been | ||
| convicted of a felony of the first degree. | ||
| SECTION 3. Section 1, Article 37.071, Code of Criminal | ||
| Procedure, is amended to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 1. (a) If a defendant is found guilty in a capital | ||
| felony case in which the state does not seek the death penalty, the | ||
| [ |
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| imprisonment for a term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 | ||
| years or to life imprisonment without parole as described by this | ||
| section and by Section 12.31, Penal Code. | ||
| (b) The judge shall impose a sentence of imprisonment in the | ||
| Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life without parole on a | ||
| defendant who was 18 years of age or older at the time the capital | ||
| felony was committed. | ||
| (c)(1) The judge or jury shall impose a sentence of | ||
| imprisonment for a term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 | ||
| years on a defendant who was younger than 18 years of age at the time | ||
| the capital felony was committed. | ||
| (2) In determining an appropriate term of imprisonment | ||
| under this subsection, the court shall consider any mitigating | ||
| factors that may have contributed to the commission of the offense. | ||
| If a jury will determine the sentence, the court shall instruct the | ||
| jury to consider mitigating factors consistent with this | ||
| subdivision. The defendant or the defendant's counsel may submit | ||
| mitigating factors to the court, including any of the following | ||
| information about the defendant: | ||
| (A) age at the time of the offense; | ||
| (B) developmental stage at the time of the | ||
| offense; | ||
| (C) family and community environment; | ||
| (D) ability to appreciate the risks and | ||
| consequences of the conduct; | ||
| (E) intellectual capacity; | ||
| (F) the outcomes of a comprehensive mental health | ||
| evaluation described by Subdivision (3); | ||
| (G) peer or familial pressure; | ||
| (H) level of participation in the offense; | ||
| (I) ability to participate meaningfully in the | ||
| defense of the case; | ||
| (J) capacity for rehabilitation; | ||
| (K) school records and special education | ||
| evaluations; | ||
| (L) trauma history; | ||
| (M) faith and community involvement; | ||
| (N) involvement in the child welfare system; and | ||
| (O) any other mitigating factor or circumstance. | ||
| (3) At the defendant's request following the | ||
| adjudication of guilt, a mental health professional licensed in | ||
| this state and specializing in adolescent mental health issues | ||
| shall conduct a comprehensive mental health evaluation. The court | ||
| shall consider the outcomes of the evaluation in determining an | ||
| appropriate term of imprisonment under this subsection. The | ||
| comprehensive mental health evaluation must include: | ||
| (A) family interviews; | ||
| (B) family history; | ||
| (C) prenatal history; | ||
| (D) developmental history; | ||
| (E) medical history; | ||
| (F) history of treatment for substance use; | ||
| (G) social history; and | ||
| (H) a psychological evaluation. | ||
| (4) The defendant or the defendant's counsel may also | ||
| submit to the court for consideration as a mitigating factor | ||
| research about adolescent brain development and its impact on | ||
| adolescent behavior and capacity for rehabilitation. | ||
| SECTION 4. Section 508.145(b), Government Code, is amended | ||
| to read as follows: | ||
| (b) An inmate serving a [ |
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| under Section 12.31(a)(1), Penal Code, for a term of not more than | ||
| 99 years or less than 25 years [ |
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| release on parole until the actual calendar time the inmate has | ||
| served, without consideration of good conduct time, equals 25 [ |
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| calendar years. | ||
| SECTION 5. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this | ||
| section, the change in law made by this Act applies to: | ||
| (1) a criminal action for which a final conviction | ||
| exists on the effective date of this Act if the defendant is serving | ||
| a sentence of life without parole for the offense and was younger | ||
| than 18 years of age at the time the offense was committed; and | ||
| (2) any other criminal action that is pending, on | ||
| appeal, or commenced on or after the effective date of this Act, | ||
| regardless of whether the criminal action is based on an offense | ||
| committed before, on, or after that date. | ||
| (b) The change in law made by this Act in adding Section | ||
| 12.42(e), Penal Code, applies only to an offense committed on or | ||
| after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before | ||
| the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when | ||
| the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect | ||
| for that purpose. For purposes of this subsection, an offense was | ||
| committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of | ||
| the offense occurred before that date. | ||
| SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the | ||
| legislative session. | ||
