Other Issues - Death Penalty

LWVAL Action Priority Level III - Issues identified by LWVAL Advocacy Committee and/or State Board or Local Leagues. Monitoring occurs; action dependent on opportunity and available resources.

Click a bill to see sponsor(s), synopsis, link to the bill, League action and justification for that action, and progress of the bill through the legislative process.

Legend:
thumbs_up_icon.jpg = LWVAL's support for the legislation.
thumbs_down_icon.jpg = LWVAL's opposition to the legislation.
green-right-arrow.jpg = new bill activity; change from previous week's report such as new progress in the legislature and/or League action. Bill may be one newly added to the report. These updates are in green font.

Contact information for legislators and committees referenced in the bills below:
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LWVAL has taken a position on these bills:

[none at this time]
LWVAL is monitoring these bills:

SB16 - Capital cases, sentencing, court prohibited from overriding jury verdict, Secs. 13A-5-45, 13A-5-46, 13A-5-47 am'd.

Sponsor(s): Senator Brewbaker

Synopsis: Capital cases, sentencing, court prohibited from overriding jury verdict, Secs. 13A-5-45, 13A-5-46, 13A-5-47 am'd.

This bill makes removes all references to jury decisions in such cases as advisory, referring to them as decisions. Unlike HB32 which requires a unanimous decision of the jury to recommend a sentence of death, this bill has the decision based on a vote of at least 10 jurors.


League Action and Justification: Monitor. HB32 is preferable but if it fails to pass this bill is better than current policy.


Bill Progress in Legislature:

02/07/2017: Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Judiciary (JUD)

02/09/2017: 2nd Read and placed on the calendar; Pending 3rd Read and Favorable from JUD

02/23/2017: Third Reading Carried Over to Call of the Chair; Brewbaker motion to Carry Over to the Call of the Chair adopted by Voice Vote; Third Reading Passed; Pittman Amendment (182998-1) Offered; Pittman motion to Adopt adopted by Roll Call; Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass adopted by Roll Call; Engrossed

House Action:

02/23/2017: Read for the first time and referred to the House committee

03/09/2017: 2nd Read and placed on the Calendar; pending 3rd Read and Favorable from JUD

04/04/2017: 3rd Read Passed; Motion to Read a 3rd Time and Pass adopted by Roll Call; Mooney intended to vote "Yea"; Signature Requested;


Senate Action:

04/04/2017: Passed Second House; Enrolled; Forwarded to Governor on April 4, 2017 at 3:42 p.m. on April 4, 2017

HB32 - Capital cases, sentencing, court prohibited from overriding jury verdict, unanimous vote of jury to recommend death, Secs. 13A-5-45, 13A-5-46, 13A-5-47 am'd.

Sponsor(s): Representative England

Synopsis: This bill would require a unanimous vote of the jury to sentence a person to death. It would bar the judge from overriding the jury verdict in this.


League Action and Justification: Monitor for now. League has a position against the death penalty. This would make it more difficult to impose, but we are uncertain if the bill will move.


Bill Progress in Legislature:

02/07/2017: First Read and assigned to committee on Judiciary (JUD)

02/16/2017: 2nd Read and placed on the calendar; pending 3rd Read and Favorable from JUD

04/04/2017: Third Reading Indefinitely Postponed; Mooney Amendment (183151-1) Offered; Motion to Adopt adopted by Roll Call; Hill Amendment (184611-1) Offered; Motion to Adopt adopted Roll Call; England motion to Substitute SB16 for HB32 adopted by Voice Vote; England motion to Indefinitely Postpone adopted by Voice Vote

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