Bill Text: MS HB800 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Death penalty executions; remove firing squad as an option.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2022-02-01 - Died In Committee [HB800 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2022-HB800-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2022 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representative Summers
House Bill 800
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 99-19-51, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE FIRING SQUAD AS AN OPTION FOR EXECUTION FOR THE DEATH PENALTY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 99-19-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
99-19-51. (1) The manner of inflicting the punishment of death shall be by the sequential intravenous administration of a lethal quantity of the following combination of substances: (a) an appropriate anesthetic or sedative; (b) a chemical paralytic agent; and (c) potassium chloride, or other similarly effective substance, until death is pronounced by the county coroner where the execution takes place or by a licensed physician according to accepted standards of medical practice. As used in this section, the term "appropriate anesthetic or sedative" means any substance that, if properly administered in a sufficient quantity, is likely to render the condemned inmate unconscious, so that the execution process should not entail a substantial risk of severe pain.
(2) If the method of execution authorized in subsection (1) of this section is held unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction or is otherwise unavailable, then the sentence of death shall be carried out by nitrogen hypoxia.
(3) If the methods of execution authorized in subsections (1) and (2) of this section are held unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction or are otherwise unavailable, then the sentence of death shall be carried out by electrocution.
* * *
( * * *4) The Commissioner of Corrections has
the authority and discretion to select and obtain the substances and the means
necessary to carry out an execution, and may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations
as the Commissioner deems necessary to administer and implement the provisions
of this section.
( * * *5) (a) The Commissioner of
Corrections shall select an execution team to assist the executioner and his
deputies. This team, including the State Executioner and his deputies who are
responsible for the administration of lethal chemicals, shall consist of those
persons, such as medical personnel, who provide direct support for the
administration of lethal chemicals. This team shall also include those individuals
involved in assisting in the execution in any capacity, as well as those
personnel assigned to specific duties related to an execution.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "supplier of lethal injection chemicals" means a supplier or suppliers of lethal injection chemicals located within the State of Mississippi.
(c) The identities of all members of the execution team, a supplier of lethal injection chemicals, and the identities of those witnesses listed in Section 99-19-55(2) who attend as members of the victim's or the condemned person's immediate family shall at all times remain confidential, and the information is exempt from disclosure under the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.
( * * *6) Notwithstanding any provision of
law to the contrary, any portion of any record of any kind that could identify
a person as being a current or former member of an execution team or a current
or former supplier of lethal injection chemicals, or those witnesses listed in
Section 99-19-55(2) who attend as members of the victim's or the condemned
person's immediate family, shall at all times be confidential, exempt, and
protected from disclosure, but the remainder of the record shall not be
protected unless otherwise provided by law. A court shall preserve the secrecy
of all confidential and exempt information described in this section by
reasonable means, which may include granting protective orders, holding in-camera
hearings, sealing the records of the action, and ordering any person involved
in the litigation not to disclose such information without prior court
approval.
( * * *7) Notwithstanding any provision of
law to the contrary, if a member of the execution team or supplier of lethal
injection chemicals is licensed by a board or department, the licensing board
or department shall not censure, reprimand, suspend, revoke, or take any other
disciplinary action against the person's license because the person participated
in a lawful execution. Any person or institution assisting with or
participating in carrying out an execution in accordance with this statute shall
be presumed to be acting in good faith. Any person or institution acting in
good faith in connection with carrying out an execution shall be immune from
any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed.
All members of the execution team perform their respective functions as
official duties on behalf of the state or any agency of the state.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022.