2007 General Assembly Legislative Update 1/26/07
Legislation Relating to Capital Punishment
VADP Supports:
HB 1960 – Abolition of Capital Punishment
Patron: Frank D. Hargrove, Sr. (R) House District 55
Crimes; death penalty.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB1960+pdf
HB 1960 died in the sub-Committee Criminal Law of House Courts of Justice.
SB 1049 Certification of laboratories that perform DNA analyses.
Patron: L. Louise Lucas
Certification of laboratories that perform DNA analyses. Provides that all DNA analyses offered as criminal evidence shall have been performed by laboratories accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB).
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+SB1049+pdf
This bill is still in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee as of 1/26/07.
VADP Opposes:
HB 2347 Capital murder; includes premeditated killing of witness in criminal case.
Patron: C. Todd Gilbert (R) House District 15
Capital murder of a witness in a criminal case; penalty. Provides that the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of any witness under subpoena in a criminal case when the killing is for the purpose of interfering with the person's duties in such case is punishable as capital murder, a Class 1 felony.
HB 2347 passed the House on 1/26/07 by a vote of 83Y 13N. It will move to the Senate.
HB 2348 – Triggerman Rule Eliminated
Patron: C. Todd Gilbert (R) House District 15
Elimination of the triggerman rule. Eliminates the "triggerman rule," which provides that only the actual perpetrator of a capital murder is eligible for the death penalty, and that accessories and principals in the second degree can only be punished with first degree murder.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB782+pdf
HB 2348 passed the House on 1/26/07 by a vote of 83Y 14N. It will move to the Senate.
See: SB 1288 which is the Senate version referred to as a companion bill.
HB 2418 Freedom of Information Act; exemption for persons designated to carry out execution.
Patron: Terry G. Kilgore
Transfer of prisoner to facility housing death chamber; confidentiality of execution records. Provides that the identities of persons designated to carry out an execution are confidential, exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, and not subject to discovery or introduction as evidence in any proceeding. The bill also removes the specific time constraints on when a prisoner condemned to die must be transferred to the correctional center wherein the death chamber is housed and when, prior to execution, the prisoner must elect to execution by a method other than lethal injection.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB2418+pdf
Parts of HB 2418 are acceptable and parts of it are questionable as presently drafted.
See: SB 1295 which is the Senate version referred to as a companion bill.
HB 2418 is listed as in the General Laws sub-committee as of 1/26/07.
HB 2750 Capital murder; includes premeditated killing of justice or judge.
Patron: Robert Hurt (R) House District 16
Co-Patrons: David B. Albo, Beverly J. Sherwood
Capital murder of a judge; penalty. Provides that the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of a judge or justice when the killing is for the purpose of interfering with his official duties is punishable as capital murder, a Class 1 felony.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB2750+pdf
HB 2750 passed the House on 1/26/07 by a vote of 81Y 14N. It will move to the Senate.
See: SB 1116 which is the Senate version referred to as a companion bill.
SB 1116 Capital murder; premeditated killing of a judge or a witness, redefinition thereof.
Patron: Nick Rerras
Co-Patron: Kenneth W. Stolle
Capital murder of a judge or witness; triggerman rule. Redefines the "triggerman rule," which currently provides that only the actual perpetrator of a capital murder is eligible for the death penalty and that accessories and principals in the second degree can be punished only as if guilty of first degree murder. This bill allows principals in the second degree and accessories before the fact to be charged as principals in the first degree in the cases of murder for hire, murder involving a continuing criminal enterprise, and terrorism. This bill allows, in all other cases of capital murder, an accessory before the fact to be tried as a principal in the first degree if he had the same intent to kill as the principal in the first degree or if he ordered or directed the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing.
The bill provides that the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of a judge or justice when the killing is for the purpose of interfering with his official duties is punishable as capital murder, a Class 1 felony, and that the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of any witness under subpoena in a criminal case when the killing is for the purpose of interfering with the person's duties in such case is punishable as capital murder, a Class 1 felony.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+SB1116S1+pdf
SB 1116 passed the Senate on 1/23/07 by a vote of 30Y 10N. It was sent to the House.
See: HB 2750 which is the House version referred to as a companion bill.
SB 1288 Triggerman rule; redefinition thereof.
Patron: Mark D. Obenshain
Redefinition of the triggerman rule. Redefines the "triggerman rule," which currently provides that only the actual perpetrator of a capital murder is eligible for the death penalty and that accessories and principals in the second degree can be punished only as if guilty of first degree murder. This bill allows principals in the second degree and accessories before the fact to be charged as principals in the first degree in the cases of murder for hire, murder involving a continuing criminal enterprise, and terrorism. This bill allows, in all other cases of capital murder, an accessory before the fact to be tried as a principal in the first degree if he had the same intent to kill as the principal in the first degree or if he ordered or directed the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing.
PDF Engrossed version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+SB1288E+pdf
SB 1288 passed the Senate on 1/23/07 by a vote of 28Y 11N. It was sent to the House.
See: HB 2348 which is the House version referred to as a companion bill.
SB 1295 Freedom of Information Act; exemption for persons designated to carry out execution.
Patron: Thomas K. Norment
Transfer of prisoner to facility housing death chamber; confidentiality of execution records. Provides that the identities of persons designated to carry out an execution are confidential, exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, and not subject to discovery or introduction as evidence in any proceeding. The bill also removes the specific time constraints on when a prisoner condemned to die must be transferred to the correctional center wherein the death chamber is housed and when, prior to execution, the prisoner must elect to execution by a method other than lethal injection.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+SB1295E+pdf
SB 1295 passed the Senate on 1/24/07 by a vote of 40Y 0N. It was sent to the House.
See: HB 2418 which is the House version referred to as a companion bill.
Virginians for Alterntives to the Death Penalty
888-567-VADP (8237)
434-960-4673 (cell)
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