Bill Text: AZ HB2680 | 2014 | Fifty-first Legislature 2nd Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: Capital punishment study group
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-23 - Referred to House RULES Committee [HB2680 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2014-HB2680-Introduced.html
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REFERENCE TITLE: capital punishment study group |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-first Legislature Second Regular Session 2014
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HB 2680 |
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Introduced by Representative Orr
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AN ACT
establishing the capital punishment study group.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Capital punishment study group; report; delayed repeal
A. A capital punishment study group is established consisting of the following members:
1. Four members of the house of representatives who are appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, not more than two of whom are members of the same political party.
2. Four members of the senate who are appointed by the president of the senate, not more than two of whom are members of the same political party.
3. The attorney general or the attorney general's designee.
4. One supreme court justice who is appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court.
5. Two superior court judges who have experience trying capital cases and who are appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court, one of whom is from a county with a population of two million persons or more and one of whom is from a county with a population of less than two million persons.
6. Two county prosecutors who are appointed by the governor, one of whom is from a county with a population of two million persons or more and one of whom is from a county with a population of less than two million persons.
7. Two public defenders who are appointed by the governor, one of whom is from a county with a population of two million persons or more and one of whom is from a county with a population of less than two million persons.
8. One private defense attorney who has experience trying capital cases and who is appointed by the governor.
9. One victim representative who is appointed by the governor.
10. One prisoner advocate who is appointed by the governor.
B. Members of the study group are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses pursuant to title 38, chapter 4, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes.
C. A majority of the members of the study group constitutes a quorum.
D. The study group members shall select a chairperson from among its members.
E. The study group shall conduct a thorough study of all matters relating to the administration of capital punishment, shall determine whether the administration of capital punishment is consistent with constitutional principles and is administered in a rational, fair and accurate manner in this state.
F. The study group shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives on or before December 1, 2014 and shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.
G. This section is repealed from and after December 31, 2014.
Sec. 2. Legislative intent
It is the intent of the legislature that this study group assess whether capital punishment is administered in a rational, fair and accurate manner in this state. In Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972), the Supreme Court ruled that the imposition of the death penalty in the cases before the court constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the United States Constitution. The decision effectively placed a moratorium on the practice, which the justices concluded had been applied inconsistently and arbitrarily.
Justice Stewart wrote in the Furman decision that "[t]hese death sentences are cruel and unusual in the same way that being struck by lightning is cruel and unusual." The justice added that the Constitution "cannot tolerate the infliction of a sentence of death under legal systems that permit this unique penalty to be so wantonly and so freakishly imposed."
Continuing to grapple with the issue, the court ruled four years after Furman that capital punishment was not under all circumstances cruel and unusual. See Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976). While the opinion let the practice stand, concerns continue to exist about real and significant disparities with the death penalty system.
