HB 7205

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the death penalty; repealing Rule
3	3.203, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, relating to a
4	defendant's mental retardation as a bar to imposition of
5	the death 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 Florida
9	exempting mentally retarded persons convicted of capital crimes
10	from the death penalty, and
11	WHEREAS, section 921.137, Florida Statutes, is a current
12	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 tried
15	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 section
22	921.137, Florida Statutes, and
23	WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court said in Atkins v.
24	Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002), that it ". . . found no reason to
25	disagree with the judgment of the legislatures which have
26	recently addressed the matter and concluded that death is not a
27	suitable punishment for a mentally retarded criminal," and
28	WHEREAS, all nine justices of the United States Supreme
29	Court in Atkins agreed that the "clearest and most reliable
30	objective evidence of contemporary values is the legislation
31	enacted by this country's legislatures," NOW, THEREFORE,
32
33	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35	Section 1.  Rule 3.203, Florida Rules of Criminal
36	Procedure, is repealed.
37	Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law,
38	but only if this act is enacted by a two-thirds vote of the
39	membership of each house of the Legislature.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.