78R802 GWK-D

By:  Dutton                                                       H.B. No. 380



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the imposition of the death penalty in certain cases 
where the guilt of the defendant may be in doubt.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 1, Code of Criminal Procedure, is 
amended by adding Article 1.22 to read as follows:
	Art. 1.22.  DEATH PENALTY BAR.  (a) In a capital case, the 
attorney representing the state may not seek the death penalty if:
		(1)  the defendant in the capital case has previously 
been prosecuted for the same offense, and the jury in the case was 
unable to return a verdict on guilt or innocence; or
		(2)  the judge trying the case determines at a hearing 
held before trial that:
			(A)  the identity of the person committing the 
offense is an issue in the case; and
			(B)  the state's ability to prove the defendant 
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt depends on the testimony of a sole 
witness to establish that the defendant is the person who committed 
the offense.
	(b)  A defendant in a capital case is entitled to have a 
hearing described by Subsection (a)(2) only if the defendant 
requests the hearing in writing to the court not later than the 30th 
day before the date the voir dire examination commences in the 
capital case.  The attorney representing the state and the attorney 
representing the defendant are entitled to appear at the hearing 
and present arguments to the court.
	SECTION 2.  Section 2, Article 37.071, Code of Criminal 
Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
	(j)  In addition to other charges required by this article, 
the court shall charge the jury that after the jury answers all 
issues required to be answered under this article, if any juror has 
any doubt as to whether the defendant is guilty of the offense 
charged, the juror shall immediately notify the court of that fact.  
The court, on a determination that a juror does have a doubt as to 
the guilt of the defendant, shall sentence the defendant to 
confinement in the institutional division of the Texas Department 
of Criminal Justice for life, regardless of the answers of the jury 
to issues submitted under this article.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and 
applies to all capital cases in which the voir dire examination 
commences on or after that date.  Notwithstanding Article 1.22(b), 
Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, if the voir dire 
examination for a defendant in a capital case commences on or after 
the effective date of this Act but before October 1, 2003, the 
defendant is entitled to a hearing if the defendant requests the 
hearing in writing at any time before the voir dire commences.