Senate Bill sb1904

    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1904

    By Senator Smith





    14-1489-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the death penalty; repealing

  3         Rule 3.203, Florida Rules of Criminal

  4         Procedure, relating to imposition of the death

  5         penalty; providing an effective date.

  6  

  7         WHEREAS, in 2001 section 921.137, Florida Statutes, was

  8  created to establish the public policy for the State of

  9  Florida exempting mentally retarded persons convicted of

10  capital crimes from the death penalty, and

11         WHEREAS, section 921.137, Florida Statutes, is a

12  current and validly enacted law, and

13         WHEREAS, it is the public policy of this state that all

14  persons charged by indictment of a capital crime shall be

15  tried before a death-qualified jury, and that hearings for the

16  determination of mental retardation shall be conducted as

17  prescribed in section 921.137, Florida Statutes, and

18         WHEREAS, the Florida Supreme Court in amendments to the

19  Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure and Rules of Appellate

20  Procedure, 875 So.2d 563 (Fla. 2004) adopted Rule 3.203, which

21  contradicts and conflicts with the express provisions of

22  section 921.137, Florida Statutes, and

23         WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court said in Atkins

24  v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002), that it ". . . found no

25  reason to disagree with the judgment of the legislatures which

26  have recently addressed the matter and concluded that death is

27  not a suitable punishment for a mentally retarded criminal,"

28  and

29         WHEREAS, all nine justices of the United States Supreme

30  Court in Atkins v. Virginia agreed that the "clearest and most

31  reliable objective evidence of contemporary values is the

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1904
    14-1489-06




 1  legislation enacted by this country's legislatures," NOW,

 2  THEREFORE,

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 4  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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 6         Section 1.  Rule 3.203, Florida Rules of Criminal

 7  Procedure, is repealed.

 8         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

 9  law, but only if this act is enacted by a two-thirds vote of

10  the membership of each house of the Legislature.

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13                          SENATE SUMMARY

14    Repeals Rule 3.203, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure,
      relating to imposition of the death penalty, if the act
15    is passed by a two-thirds vote of each house of the
      Legislature.
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