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Senate Bill 60 |
Senate Author: Lucio et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-05 |
House Sponsor: Goolsby et al. |
Senate Bill 60 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Government Code, and the Penal Code to add life without parole as a sentencing option for offenders convicted of capital murder and to eliminate the option of a life sentence under which the person may become eligible for parole in 40 years. The bill requires the Court of Criminal Appeals to reform a sentence of death in a capital murder case for an offense committed before September 1, 1991, and establishes requirements for the court in reforming the pre-1991 death sentences.
The bill also provides that an attorney, to be eligible to be appointed as lead counsel in a death penalty case or as lead counsel in the direct appeal of a death penalty case, must not have been found by a federal or state court to have rendered ineffective assistance of counsel during the trial or appeal of any capital case.
Senate Bill 60 amends the Penal Code to prohibit any person younger than 18, rather than 17, years of age at the time of the offense from receiving the death penalty.