1-1 By: Serna (Senate Sponsor - Shapleigh) H.B. No. 2693
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 1997;
1-3 May 13, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
1-4 Justice; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the development of information to identify missing
1-9 persons.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Article 49.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-12 amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to
1-13 read as follows:
1-14 (a) A justice of the peace shall conduct an inquest into the
1-15 death of a person who dies in the county served by the justice if:
1-16 (1) the person dies in prison under circumstances
1-17 other than those described by Section 501.055(b), Government Code,
1-18 or in jail;
1-19 (2) the person dies an unnatural death from a cause
1-20 other than a legal execution;
1-21 (3) the body of a [the] person is found, [and] the
1-22 cause or circumstances of death are unknown, and:
1-23 (A) the body is identified; or
1-24 (B) the body is unidentified;
1-25 (4) the circumstances of the death indicate that the
1-26 death may have been caused by unlawful means;
1-27 (5) the person commits suicide or the circumstances of
1-28 the death indicate that the death may have been caused by suicide;
1-29 (6) the person dies without having been attended by a
1-30 physician;
1-31 (7) the person dies while attended by a physician who
1-32 is unable to certify the cause of death and who requests the
1-33 justice of the peace to conduct an inquest; or
1-34 (8) the person is a child who is younger than six
1-35 years of age and the death is reported under Chapter 264, Family
1-36 Code.
1-37 (d) A justice of the peace investigating a death described
1-38 by Subsection (a)(3)(B) shall report the death to the missing
1-39 children and missing persons information clearinghouse of the
1-40 Department of Public Safety and the national crime information
1-41 center not later than the 10th working day after the date the
1-42 investigation began.
1-43 SECTION 2. Article 49.07(d), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-44 amended to read as follows:
1-45 (d) A person commits an offense if the person is required by
1-46 this article to give notice and intentionally or knowingly fails to
1-47 give the notice. An offense under this subsection is a Class C
1-48 misdemeanor [punishable by a fine in an amount not to exceed $500].
1-49 SECTION 3. Article 49.09, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-50 amended by amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsection
1-51 (e) to read as follows:
1-52 (b) A person may not cremate or direct the cremation of a
1-53 body subject to investigation under Article 49.04 unless the body
1-54 is identified and the person has received from the justice of the
1-55 peace a certificate signed by the justice stating that:
1-56 (1) an autopsy was performed on the body under Article
1-57 49.10 of this code; or
1-58 (2) no autopsy was necessary.
1-59 (d) A person commits an offense if the person cremates or
1-60 directs the cremation of a body without obtaining a certificate
1-61 from a justice of the peace as required by Subsection (b) of this
1-62 article. An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor
1-63 [punishable by confinement in jail for a term not to exceed six
1-64 months, a fine not less than $500 or more than $1,000, or both the
2-1 fine and confinement].
2-2 (e) If the body of a deceased person is unidentified, a
2-3 person may not cremate or direct the cremation of the body under
2-4 this article. If the body is buried, the justice of the peace
2-5 shall record and maintain for not less than 10 years all
2-6 information pertaining to the body and the location of burial.
2-7 SECTION 4. Article 49.10, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
2-8 amended by adding Subsections (l), (m), and (n) to read as follows:
2-9 (l) A medical examination on an unidentified person shall
2-10 include the following information to enable a timely and accurate
2-11 identification of the person:
2-12 (1) all available fingerprints and palm prints;
2-13 (2) dental charts and radiographs (X-rays) of the
2-14 person's teeth;
2-15 (3) frontal and lateral facial photographs with scale
2-16 indicated;
2-17 (4) notation and photographs, with scale indicated, of
2-18 a significant scar, mark, tattoo, or item of clothing or other
2-19 personal effect found with or near the body;
2-20 (5) notation of antemortem medical conditions;
2-21 (6) notation of observations pertinent to the
2-22 estimation of time of death; and
2-23 (7) precise documentation of the location of burial of
2-24 the remains.
2-25 (m) A medical examination on an unidentified person may
2-26 include the following information to enable a timely and accurate
2-27 identification of the person:
2-28 (1) full body radiographs (X-rays); and
2-29 (2) hair specimens with roots.
2-30 (n) On discovering the body of a deceased person in the
2-31 circumstances described by Article 49.04(a)(3)(B), the medical
2-32 examiner may request the aid of a forensic anthropologist in the
2-33 examination of the body. The forensic anthropologist must be
2-34 board-certified by a nationally recognized association that
2-35 accredits practitioners in the forensic sciences. The forensic
2-36 anthropologist shall attempt to establish whether the body is of a
2-37 human or animal, whether evidence of childbirth, injury, or disease
2-38 exists, and the sex, race, age, stature, and physical anomalies of
2-39 the body. The forensic anthropologist may also attempt to
2-40 establish the cause, manner, and time of death.
2-41 SECTION 5. Article 49.22(d), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
2-42 amended to read as follows:
2-43 (d) An offense under this article is a Class B misdemeanor
2-44 [punishable by confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 30
2-45 days, a fine not to exceed $1,000, or both the fine and
2-46 confinement].
2-47 SECTION 6. Article 49.25, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
2-48 amended by amending Sections 6, 7, and 9, redesignating existing
2-49 Section 13 as Section 14 and amending that section, and adding new
2-50 Sections 10b and 13 to read as follows:
2-51 Sec. 6. Death investigations. (a) Any medical examiner, or
2-52 his duly authorized deputy, shall be authorized, and it shall be
2-53 his duty, to hold inquests with or without a jury within his
2-54 county, in the following cases:
2-55 1. When a person shall die within twenty-four hours
2-56 after admission to a hospital or institution or in prison or in
2-57 jail;
2-58 2. When any person is killed; or from any cause dies
2-59 an unnatural death, except under sentence of the law; or dies in
2-60 the absence of one or more good witnesses;
2-61 3. When the body of a person [human being] is found,
2-62 [and] the cause or circumstances of [his] death are unknown, and:
2-63 (A) the body is identified; or
2-64 (B) the body is unidentified;
2-65 4. When the circumstances of the death of any person
2-66 are such as to lead to suspicion that he came to his death by
2-67 unlawful means;
2-68 5. When any person commits suicide, or the
2-69 circumstances of his death are such as to lead to suspicion that he
3-1 committed suicide;
3-2 6. When a person dies without having been attended by
3-3 a duly licensed and practicing physician, and the local health
3-4 officer or registrar required to report the cause of death under
3-5 Section 193.005, Health and Safety Code, does not know the cause of
3-6 death. When the local health officer or registrar of vital
3-7 statistics whose duty it is to certify the cause of death does not
3-8 know the cause of death, he shall so notify the medical examiner of
3-9 the county in which the death occurred and request an inquest;
3-10 7. When the person is a child who is younger than six
3-11 years of age and the death is reported under Chapter 264, Family
3-12 Code; and
3-13 8. When a person dies who has been attended
3-14 immediately preceding his death by a duly licensed and practicing
3-15 physician or physicians, and such physician or physicians are not
3-16 certain as to the cause of death and are unable to certify with
3-17 certainty the cause of death as required by Section 193.004, Health
3-18 and Safety Code. In case of such uncertainty the attending
3-19 physician or physicians, or the superintendent or general manager
3-20 of the hospital or institution in which the deceased shall have
3-21 died, shall so report to the medical examiner of the county in
3-22 which the death occurred, and request an inquest.
3-23 (b) The inquests authorized and required by this Article
3-24 shall be held by the medical examiner of the county in which the
3-25 death occurred.
3-26 (c) In making such investigations and holding such inquests,
3-27 the medical examiner or an authorized deputy may administer oaths
3-28 and take affidavits. In the absence of next of kin or legal
3-29 representatives of the deceased, the medical examiner or authorized
3-30 deputy shall take charge of the body and all property found with
3-31 it.
3-32 Sec. 7. Reports of Death. (a) Any police officer,
3-33 superintendent of institution, physician, or private citizen who
3-34 shall become aware of a death under any of the circumstances set
3-35 out in Section 6(a) of this Article, shall immediately report such
3-36 death to the office of the medical examiner or to the city or
3-37 county police departments; any such report to a city or county
3-38 police department shall be immediately transmitted to the office of
3-39 the medical examiner.
3-40 (b) A person investigating a death described by Subdivision
3-41 3(B) of Section 6(a) shall report the death to the missing children
3-42 and missing persons information clearinghouse of the Department of
3-43 Public Safety and the national crime information center not later
3-44 than the 10th working day after the date the investigation began.
3-45 Sec. 9. Autopsy. (a) If the cause of death shall be
3-46 determined beyond a reasonable doubt as a result of the
3-47 investigation, the medical examiner shall file a report thereof
3-48 setting forth specifically the cause of death with the district
3-49 attorney or criminal district attorney, or in a county in which
3-50 there is no district attorney or criminal district attorney with
3-51 the county attorney, of the county in which the death occurred. If
3-52 in the opinion of the medical examiner an autopsy is necessary, or
3-53 if such is requested by the district attorney or criminal district
3-54 attorney, or county attorney where there is no district attorney or
3-55 criminal district attorney, the autopsy shall be immediately
3-56 performed by the medical examiner or a duly authorized deputy. In
3-57 those cases where a complete autopsy is deemed unnecessary by the
3-58 medical examiner to ascertain the cause of death, the medical
3-59 examiner may perform a limited autopsy involving the taking of
3-60 blood samples or any other samples of body fluids, tissues or
3-61 organs, in order to ascertain the cause of death or whether a crime
3-62 has been committed. In the case of a body of a human being whose
3-63 identity is unknown, the medical examiner may authorize such
3-64 investigative and laboratory tests and processes as are required to
3-65 determine its identity as well as the cause of death. In
3-66 performing an autopsy the medical examiner or authorized deputy may
3-67 use the facilities of any city or county hospital within the county
3-68 or such other facilities as are made available. Upon completion of
3-69 the autopsy, the medical examiner shall file a report setting forth
4-1 the findings in detail with the office of the district attorney or
4-2 criminal district attorney of the county, or if there is no
4-3 district attorney or criminal district attorney, with the county
4-4 attorney of the county.
4-5 (b) A medical examination on an unidentified person shall
4-6 include the following information to enable a timely and accurate
4-7 identification of the person:
4-8 (1) all available fingerprints and palm prints;
4-9 (2) dental charts and radiographs (X-rays) of the
4-10 person's teeth;
4-11 (3) frontal and lateral facial photographs with scale
4-12 indicated;
4-13 (4) notation and photographs, with scale indicated, of
4-14 a significant scar, mark, tattoo, or item of clothing or other
4-15 personal effect found with or near the body;
4-16 (5) notation of antemortem medical conditions;
4-17 (6) notation of observations pertinent to the
4-18 estimation of time of death; and
4-19 (7) precise documentation of the location of burial of
4-20 the remains.
4-21 (c) A medical examination on an unidentified person may
4-22 include the following information to enable a timely and accurate
4-23 identification of the person:
4-24 (1) full body radiographs (X-rays); and
4-25 (2) hair specimens with roots.
4-26 Sec. 10b. DISPOSAL OF UNIDENTIFIED BODY. If the body of a
4-27 deceased person is unidentified, a person may not cremate or direct
4-28 the cremation of the body under this article. If the body is
4-29 buried, the investigating agency responsible for the burial shall
4-30 record and maintain for not less than 10 years all information
4-31 pertaining to the body and the location of burial.
4-32 Sec. 13. USE OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST. On discovering the
4-33 body of a deceased person in the circumstances described by
4-34 Subdivision 3(B) of Section 6(a), the medical examiner may request
4-35 the aid of a forensic anthropologist in the examination of the
4-36 body. The forensic anthropologist must be board-certified by a
4-37 nationally recognized association that accredits practitioners in
4-38 the forensic sciences. The forensic anthropologist shall attempt
4-39 to establish whether the body is of a human or animal, whether
4-40 evidence of childbirth, injury, or disease exists, and the sex,
4-41 race, age, stature, and physical anomalies of the body. The
4-42 forensic anthropologist may also attempt to establish the cause,
4-43 manner, and time of death.
4-44 Sec. 14. PENALTY. (a) A person commits an offense if the
4-45 person knowingly violates this article.
4-46 (b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor
4-47 [Any person in violation of any provision of this Article, upon
4-48 conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five
4-49 hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more
4-50 than thirty days or both such fine and imprisonment].
4-51 SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. The
4-52 change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed
4-53 on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed
4-54 before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
4-55 effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
4-56 continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
4-57 section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
4-58 Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
4-59 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
4-60 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-61 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-62 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-63 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
4-64 * * * * *