By: Lucio S.B. No. 39 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to jury instructions and charges in capital cases. 1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-3 SECTION 1. Subsection (e), Section 2, Article 37.071, Code 1-4 of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows: 1-5 (e)(1) The court shall instruct the jury that if the jury 1-6 returns an affirmative finding to each issue submitted under 1-7 Subsection (b) of this article, it shall answer the following 1-8 issue: 1-9 Whether, taking into consideration all of the evidence, 1-10 including the circumstances of the offense, the defendant's 1-11 character and background, and the personal moral culpability of the 1-12 defendant, there is a sufficient mitigating circumstance or 1-13 circumstances to warrant that a sentence of life imprisonment 1-14 rather than a death sentence be imposed. 1-15 (2) The court, on the written request of the attorney 1-16 representing the defendant, shall: 1-17 (A) instruct the jury that if the jury answers 1-18 that a circumstance or circumstances warrant that a sentence of 1-19 life imprisonment rather than a death sentence be imposed, the 1-20 court will sentence the defendant to imprisonment in the 1-21 institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 1-22 for life; and 1-23 (B) charge the jury in writing as follows: 1-24 "Under the law applicable in this case, if the 2-1 defendant is sentenced to imprisonment in the institutional 2-2 division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life, the 2-3 defendant will become eligible for release on parole, but not until 2-4 the actual time served by the defendant equals 40 years, without 2-5 consideration of any good conduct time. It cannot accurately be 2-6 predicted how the parole laws might be applied to this defendant if 2-7 the defendant is sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life 2-8 because the application of those laws will depend on decisions made 2-9 by prison and parole authorities, but eligibility for parole does 2-10 not guarantee that parole will be granted." 2-11 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies 2-12 only to an offense committed in or after the effective date of this 2-13 Act. 2-14 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this 2-15 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, 2-16 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. 2-17 (c) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. 2-18 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-19 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-20 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-21 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-22 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 2-23 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 2-24 passage, and it is so enacted.