HBA-EDN H.B. 1860 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1860
By: Turner, Sylvester
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/12/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

For the last ten years Texas has led the nation in the number of
individuals executed, some of whom were 17 years of age at the time of
conviction.  Many states that impose the death penalty do allow individuals
who were 17 years of age at the time of conviction to be sentenced to
death, but most of these states require some level of review by a judge to
determine the defendant's level of maturity at the time of the commission
of the offense.  Texas is one of a few states that does not require such a
review.  Throughout the statutes, individuals 17 years of age are regarded
as children, and an individual is not considered to be an adult until that
individual reaches 18 years of age.  There is some concern that individuals
who were younger than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of
their offense may not have been sufficiently mature to understand the
consequences of their actions and should not be sentenced to death without
a review of their level of maturity at the time of the offense.  House Bill
1860 requires a court, if the state intends to seek the death penalty for
an individual who was younger than 18 years of age at the time of the
commission of the offense, to hold a hearing to determine whether the
defendant was sufficiently mature at the time of the offense to understand
the consequences of their actions.     

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1860 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to require a court,
if the state intends to seek the death penalty for a defendant who was
younger than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense,
to hold a hearing to determine whether a defendant was sufficiently mature
to understand the consequences of the defendant's actions at the time of
the commission of the offense.  The bill requires the court to order the
defendant to submit to an examination by court-appointed experts to
determine the defendant's mental and emotional maturity at the time of the
commission of the offense.  The bill authorizes evidence to be presented at
the time of sentencing as to whether the defendant was sufficiently mature.

H.B. 1860 modifies the court's instructions to a jury for a case in which
evidence from an examination of the defendant by court-appointed experts
has raised the issue of whether the defendant was sufficiently mature.   

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.