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House Bill 1545 |
House Author: Pena |
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Effective: 9-1-07 |
Senate Sponsor: Duncan |
House Bill 1545 amends provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure relating to the determination of a defendant's competency to be executed. The bill expands the determinations to be made by the trial court in the appeal of a death penalty case based on competency to be executed to include whether the defendant has established that the defendant is not incompetent, in addition to whether the defendant has established that the defendant is incompetent. The bill authorizes either party in the case to appeal the trial court's determination to the court of criminal appeals and requires the court of criminal appeals to review and determine whether to adopt the trial court's order, findings, or recommendations relating to the defendant's competency. The bill prohibits the court of criminal appeals from reviewing any finding of the defendant's competency if the motion for a competency hearing is filed on or after the 20th day before the defendant's scheduled execution date.