87R2578 EAS-D
 
  By: J. Johnson of Harris H.B. No. 838
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the extent of a defendant's criminal responsibility for
  the conduct of another in capital felony cases.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 1, Article 37.071, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  A defendant who is found guilty in a capital felony case
  only as a party under Section 7.02, Penal Code, may not be sentenced
  to death, and the state may not seek the death penalty in any case in
  which the defendant's liability is based solely on that section.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 2(b), (c), (d), and (g), Article
  37.071, Code of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  On conclusion of the presentation of the evidence, the
  court shall instruct [submit the following issues to] the jury to
  determine [:
               [(1)]  whether there is a probability that the
  defendant would commit criminal acts of violence that would
  constitute a continuing threat to society[; and
               [(2)  in cases in which the jury charge at the guilt or
  innocence stage permitted the jury to find the defendant guilty as a
  party under Sections 7.01 and 7.02, Penal Code, whether the
  defendant actually caused the death of the deceased or did not
  actually cause the death of the deceased but intended to kill the
  deceased or another or anticipated that a human life would be
  taken].
         (c)  The state must prove the [each] issue submitted under
  Subsection (b) [of this article] beyond a reasonable doubt, and the
  jury shall return a special verdict of "yes" or "no" on that [each]
  issue [submitted under Subsection (b) of this Article].
         (d)  The court shall charge the jury that:
               (1)  in deliberating on the issue [issues] submitted
  under Subsection (b) [of this article], it shall consider all
  evidence admitted at the guilt or innocence stage and the
  punishment stage, including evidence of the defendant's background
  or character or the circumstances of the offense that militates for
  or mitigates against the imposition of the death penalty;
               (2)  it may not answer the [any] issue submitted under
  Subsection (b) [of this article] "yes" unless it agrees unanimously
  and it may not answer the [any] issue "no" unless 10 or more jurors
  agree; and
               (3)  members of the jury need not agree on what
  particular evidence supports a negative answer to the [any] issue
  submitted under Subsection (b) [of this article].
         (g)  If the jury returns an affirmative finding on the [each]
  issue submitted under Subsection (b) and a negative finding on the 
  [an] issue submitted under Subsection (e)(1), the court shall
  sentence the defendant to death.  If the jury returns a negative
  finding on the [any] issue submitted under Subsection (b) or an
  affirmative finding on the [an] issue submitted under Subsection
  (e)(1) or is unable to answer an [any] issue submitted under
  Subsection (b) or (e), the court shall sentence the defendant to
  confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life
  imprisonment without parole.
         SECTION 3.  Section 2(e)(1), Article 37.071, Code of
  Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
               (1)  The court shall instruct the jury that if the jury
  returns an affirmative finding to the [each] issue submitted under
  Subsection (b), it shall determine whether [answer the following
  issue:
         [Whether], taking into consideration all of the evidence,
  including the circumstances of the offense, the defendant's
  character and background, and the personal moral culpability of the
  defendant, there is a sufficient mitigating circumstance or
  circumstances to warrant that a sentence of life imprisonment
  without parole rather than a death sentence be imposed.
         SECTION 4.  Section 2, Article 37.0711, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 2.  (a)  If a defendant is found guilty in a case in
  which the state does not seek the death penalty, the judge shall
  sentence the defendant to life imprisonment.
         (b)  A defendant who is found guilty in a capital felony case
  only as a party under Section 7.02, Penal Code, may not be sentenced
  to death, and the state may not seek the death penalty in any case in
  which the defendant's liability is based solely on that section.
         SECTION 5.  The change in law made by this Act applies to a
  criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective date
  of this Act. A criminal proceeding that commences before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
  date the proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.