Legislation Introduced as of 1/12/07 Relating to Capital Punishment
2007
VADP Supports:
HB 1960 – Abolition of Capital Punishment
Patron: Frank D. Hargrove, Sr. (R) House District 55
Summary as introduced:
Crimes; death penalty. Abolishes the death penalty for all Class 1 felonies committed on or after July 1, 2007.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB1960+pdf
SB 1049 Certification of laboratories that perform DNA analyses.
Patron: L. Louise Lucas
Summary as introduced:
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
Study Bill
There is the possibility of a bill calling for a Study of Capital Punishment in
VADP Opposes:
HB 782 – Triggerman Rule Eliminated
Patron: C. Todd Gilbert (R) House District 15
Summary as introduced:
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 1018 Capital murder; includes premeditated killing of justice or judge.
Patron: Robert Hurt (R) House District 16
Summary as introduced:
Capital murder. Provides that the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of a justice or judge of any Virginia court, when such killing is for the purpose of interfering with the performance of the judge's official duties or because of the judge's official duties, is capital murder.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB1018+pdf
HB 1311 Capital murder; includes premeditated killing of person assisting in criminal investigation.
Patron: C. Todd Gilbert (R) House District 15
Summary as passed House:
Capital murder of a person assisting in a criminal investigation; penalty. Adds to the list of offenses punishable as capital murder the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of any person because he is assisting, would have assisted, or previously assisted in a criminal investigation or prosecution.
VADP is monitoring these additional bills:
HB 2418 Transfer of prisoner to facility housing death chamber; confidentiality of execution records.
Patron: Terry G. Kilgore
Summary as introduced:
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.
VADP neither supports nor opposes:
HB 2053 Capital murder; sentencing of juvenile convicted thereof.
Patron: Michele B. McQuigg (R) House Dist. 51
Summary as introduced:
Sentencing of juvenile convicted of capital murder. Provides that, upon a finding of guilty of any felony charge, the court shall fix the sentence of a juvenile defendant without the intervention of a jury. Currently, the Code provides for involvement of a jury in a capital case; however, since a person convicted of capital murder while a juvenile may not be put to death, this is no longer necessary.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB2053+pdf
HB 2361 Court-appointed attorneys; waiver on compensation cap.
Patron: Lacey E. Putney
Summary as introduced:
Waiver on compensation cap for court-appointed attorneys. Provides that court-appointed counsel may request a waiver of the limitations on compensation by submitting the request, in writing, accompanied by a detailed accounting of the time expended on the representation and the justification for the waiver, to the appropriate court. If the court determines that the request is justified, it shall be sent to the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia for approval. If approved by the Executive Secretary, the court shall direct that payment be made.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB2361+pdf
HB 3034 DNA analysis and data bank; penalty.
Patron: Robert B. Bell (R) House District 58
Summary as introduced:
DNA analysis and data bank; penalty. Provides that the Department of Forensic Science shall periodically review the DNA data bank it maintains and report the identity of any person required to submit a blood, saliva, or tissue sample for DNA analysis pursuant to Article 1.1 (§ 19.2-310.2 et seq.) of Chapter 18 of Title 19.2 for whom no sample or analysis can be located to the Virginia Parole Board, the Virginia Department of Corrections, all probation and parole districts and programs, the sentencing court, and state and local law-enforcement agencies. If, at the time of the report, the person is on probation, parole, or any other form of postrelease supervision, the entity overseeing that supervision shall request that the person submit the required sample. If the person fails to accede to the request within a reasonable time, his postrelease supervision shall be revoked or terminated. If, at the time of the report, the person is not subject to any postrelease supervision, the local law-enforcement agency for the locality in which the person resides shall request that the person submit the required sample. If the person fails to accede to the request within a reasonable time, he is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. The bill also provides that the fee for taking a DNA sample may be charged only one time regardless of the number of samples taken. The bill also provides that the DNA sample of a person who is convicted of a felony but who will not be incarcerated shall be taken before he is released from the custody of the sentencing court.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB3034+pdf
SB 1168 Waiver on compensation cap for court-appointed attorneys.
Patron: Kenneth W. Stolle
Summary as introduced:
Waiver on compensation cap for court-appointed attorneys. Provides that court-appointed counsel may request a waiver of the limitations on compensation by submitting the request, in writing, accompanied by a detailed accounting of the time expended on the representation and the justification for the waiver, to the appropriate court. If the court determines that the request is justified, it shall be sent to the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia for approval. If approved by the Executive Secretary, the court shall direct that payment be made.
PDF version: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+SB1168+pdf
Jack Payden-Travers, Director
Virginians for Alterntives to the Death Penalty
888-567-VADP (8237)
434-960-4673 (cell)
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