HB 408 -- Death Penalty Commission

Sponsor:  Parker

This bill places a moratorium on all executions until January 1,
2009, and establishes the Commission on the Death Penalty to
study the use of the death penalty.  The commission will consist
of 10 members, including two members of the Senate, two members
of the House of Representatives, the state public defender, the
Attorney General, a private criminal defense attorney, a county
prosecutor, a family member of a murder victim, and a family
member of a person on death row.  The commission will hire an
executive director.

The commission will make recommendations for changes to the laws
and court rules regarding death penalty cases to ensure that:

(1)  Defendants who are sentenced to death are in fact guilty of
first degree murder;

(2)  Defendants are provided adequate counsel and adequate
resources at trial and at the appellate and post-conviction
stages;

(3)  Race does not play an impermissible role in determining
which defendants are sentenced to death;

(4)  Appellate and post-conviction procedures are adequate to
correct errors and injustices occurring at the trial level,
including access to evidence for forensic testing; and

(5)  Prosecutors throughout the state seek the death penalty in a
uniform fashion.

The commission must issue a report of its findings to the
Governor, General Assembly, and Missouri Supreme Court by
January 1, 2009.

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated August 25, 2005 at 1:19 pm