Bill Text: NC S306 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Capital Punishment/Amendments
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-06-19 - Ch. SL 2013-154 [S306 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2013-S306-Chaptered.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2013
SESSION LAW 2013-154
SENATE BILL 306
AN ACT to exclude the administration of a lethal injection from the practice of medicine; to codify the law that prohibits regulatory boards from sanctioning health care professionals for assisting in the execution process; to amend the law on the administration of a lethal injection; to require the setting of an execution date if any of the events which are provided by statute have occurred; to eliminate the process by which a defendant may use statistics to have a sentence of death reduced to life in prison without parole; to require periodic reports on the training and availability of personnel to carry out a death sentence; AND to require periodic reports on the status of pending postconviction capital cases.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a) Article 19 of Chapter 15 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 15‑188.1. Health care professional assistance.
(a) Any assistance rendered with an execution under this Article by any licensed health care professional, including, but not limited to, physicians, nurses, and pharmacists, shall not be cause for any disciplinary or corrective measures by any board, commission, or other authority created by the State or governed by State law which oversees or regulates the practice of health care professionals, including, but not limited to, the North Carolina Medical Board, the North Carolina Board of Nursing, and the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy.
(b) The infliction of the punishment of death by administration of the required lethal substances under this Article shall not be construed to be the practice of medicine."
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 90‑1.1(5) reads as rewritten:
"(5) The practice of
medicine or surgery. – The Except as otherwise provided by this
subdivision, the practice of medicine or surgery, for purposes of this
Article, includes any of the following acts:
a. Advertising, holding out to the public, or representing in any manner that the individual is authorized to practice medicine in this State.
b. Offering or undertaking to prescribe, order, give, or administer any drug or medicine for the use of any other individual.
c. Offering or undertaking to prevent or diagnose, correct, prescribe for, administer to, or treat in any manner or by any means, methods, or devices any disease, illness, pain, wound, fracture, infirmity, defect, or abnormal physical or mental condition of any individual, including the management of pregnancy or parturition.
d. Offering or undertaking to perform any surgical operation on any individual.
e. Using the designation "Doctor," "Doctor of Medicine," "Doctor of Osteopathy," "Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine," "Physician," "Surgeon," "Physician and Surgeon," "Dr.," "M.D.," "D.O.," or any combination thereof in the conduct of any occupation or profession pertaining to the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of human disease or condition, unless the designation additionally contains the description of or reference to another branch of the healing arts for which the individual holds a valid license in this State or the use of the designation "Doctor" or "Physician" is otherwise specifically permitted by law.
f. The performance of any act, within or without this State, described in this subdivision by use of any electronic or other means, including the Internet or telephone.
The administration of required lethal substances or any assistance whatsoever rendered with an execution under Article 19 of Chapter 15 of the General Statutes does not constitute the practice of medicine or surgery."
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 90‑85.38(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b) The Board, in accordance with Chapter 150B of the General Statutes, may suspend, revoke, or refuse to grant or renew any permit for the same conduct as stated in subsection (a). The administration of required lethal substances or any assistance whatsoever rendered with an execution under Article 19 of Chapter 15 of the General Statutes does not constitute the practice of pharmacy under this Article, and any assistance rendered with an execution under Article 19 of Chapter 15 of the General Statutes shall not be the cause for disciplinary action under this Article."
SECTION 1.(d) G.S. 90‑171.20(4) reads as rewritten:
"(4) "Nursing" is a dynamic discipline which includes the assessing, caring, counseling, teaching, referring and implementing of prescribed treatment in the maintenance of health, prevention and management of illness, injury, disability or the achievement of a dignified death. It is ministering to; assisting; and sustained, vigilant, and continuous care of those acutely or chronically ill; supervising patients during convalescence and rehabilitation; the supportive and restorative care given to maintain the optimum health level of individuals, groups, and communities; the supervision, teaching, and evaluation of those who perform or are preparing to perform these functions; and the administration of nursing programs and nursing services. For purposes of this Article, the administration of required lethal substances or any assistance whatsoever rendered with an execution under Article 19 of Chapter 15 of the General Statutes does not constitute nursing."
SECTION 2. G.S. 15‑194 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15‑194. Time for execution.
(a) In sentencing a
capital defendant to a death sentence pursuant to G.S. 15A‑2000(b),
the sentencing judge need not specify the date and time the execution is to be
carried out by the Division of Adult Correction of the Department of Public
Safety. The Secretary of Public Safety shall immediately schedule a date for
the execution of the original death sentence not less than 30 days nor more
than 60 days from the date of receiving written notification from the Attorney
General of North Carolina or the district attorney who prosecuted the case of
any one of the following: The Attorney General of North Carolina shall provide
written notification to the Secretary of the Department of Public Safety of the
occurrence of any of the following not more than 90 days from that occurrence:
(1) The United States Supreme Court has filed an opinion upholding the sentence of death following completion of the initial State and federal postconviction proceedings, if any;
(2) The mandate issued by the Supreme Court of North Carolina on direct appeal pursuant to N.C.R. App. P. 32(b) affirming the capital defendant's death sentence and the time for filing a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court has expired without a petition being filed;
(3) The capital defendant, if indigent, failed to timely seek the appointment of counsel pursuant to G.S. 7A‑451(c), or failed to file a timely motion for appropriate relief as required by G.S. 15A‑1415(a);
(4) The superior court denied the capital defendant's motion for appropriate relief, but the capital defendant failed to file a timely petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of North Carolina pursuant to N.C.R. App. P. 21(f);
(5) The Supreme Court of North Carolina denied the capital defendant's petition for writ of certiorari pursuant to N.C.R. App. P. 21(f), or, if certiorari was granted, upheld the capital defendant's death sentence, but the capital defendant failed to file a timely petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court; or
(6) Following State postconviction proceedings, if any, the capital defendant failed to file a timely petition for writ of habeas corpus in the appropriate federal district court, or failed to timely appeal or petition an adverse habeas corpus decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit or the United States Supreme Court.
The Secretary of the Department of Public Safety shall immediately schedule a date for the execution of the original death sentence not less than 15 days or more than 120 days from the date of receiving written notification from the Attorney General under this section.
The Secretary shall send a certified copy of the document fixing the date to the clerk of superior court of the county in which the case was tried or, if venue was changed, in which the defendant was indicted. The certified copy shall be recorded in the minutes of the court. The Secretary shall also send certified copies to the capital defendant, the capital defendant's attorney, the district attorney who prosecuted the case, and the Attorney General of North Carolina.
(b) The Attorney General shall submit a written report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety by April 1, 2014, and thereafter on October 1 of each year, on the status of all pending postconviction capital cases. Alternatively, the Chairs of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety may direct that the reports required under this subsection be made on other dates consistent with the Committee's schedule."
SECTION 3.(a) G.S. 15‑188 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15‑188. Manner and place of execution.
In accordance with G.S. 15‑187,
the mode of executing a death sentence must in every case be by administering
to the convict or felon a lethal quantity of an ultrashort‑acting
barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent until the convict or
felon is dead; an intravenous injection of a substance or substances in
a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death and until the person is dead, and
that procedure shall be determined by the Secretary of the Department of Public
Safety, who shall ensure compliance with the federal and State constitutions;
and when any person, convict or felon shall be sentenced by any court of the
State having competent jurisdiction to be so executed, the punishment shall
only be inflicted within a permanent death chamber which the superintendent of
the State penitentiary is hereby authorized and directed to provide within the
walls of the North Carolina penitentiary at Raleigh, North Carolina. The
superintendent of the State penitentiary shall also cause to be provided, in
conformity with this Article, the necessary appliances for the infliction of
the punishment of death and qualified personnel to set up and prepare the
injection, administer the preinjections, insert the IV catheter, and to perform
other tasks required for this procedure in accordance with the requirements of
this Article."
SECTION 3.(b) Procedures and substances utilized to carry out a death sentence in place before the effective date of this act are not abated or affected by this act; however, it shall be within the discretion of the Secretary whether to continue, change, or modify such procedures or substances as authorized by law.
SECTION 4. G.S. 15‑190 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15‑190. Person or persons to be designated by warden to execute sentence; supervision of execution; who shall be present.
(a) Some guard or
guards or other reliable person or persons to be named and designated by the
warden from time to time shall cause the person, convict or felon against whom
the death sentence has been so pronounced to be executed as provided by this
Article and all amendments thereto. The execution shall be under the general
supervision and control of the warden of the penitentiary, who shall from time
to time, in writing, name and designate the guard or guards or other reliable
person or persons who shall cause the person, convict or felon against whom the
death sentence has been pronounced to be executed as provided by this Article
and all amendments thereto. At such execution there shall be present the warden
or deputy warden or some person designated by the warden in the warden's place,
and the surgeon or physician of the penitentiary.a licensed
physician. Four respectable citizens, two members of the victim's family,
the counsel and any relatives of such person, convict or felon and a minister
or member of the clergy or religious leader of the person's choosing may be
present if they so desire. The identities, including the names, residential
addresses, residential telephone numbers, and social security numbers, of
witnesses or persons designated to carry out the execution shall be
confidential and exempted from Chapter 132 of the General Statutes and are not
subject to discovery or introduction as evidence in any proceeding. The Senior
Resident Superior Court Judge for Wake County may order disclosure of names
made confidential by this section after making findings that support a
conclusion that disclosure is necessary to a proper administration of justice.
(b) The warden shall report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety by April 1, 2014, and thereafter on October 1 of each year, on the status of the persons required by subsection (a) of this section to be named and designated by the warden to execute death sentences under this Article. The report shall confirm that the required persons are properly trained and ready to serve as an execution team. Alternatively, the Chairs of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety may direct that the reports required under this subsection be made on other dates consistent with the Committee's schedule."
SECTION 5.(a) Article 101 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes is repealed.
SECTION 5.(b) The intent and purpose of this section, and its sole effect, is to remove the use of statistics to prove purposeful discrimination in a specific case. Upon repeal of Article 101 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes, a capital defendant retains all of the rights which the State and federal constitutions provide to ensure that the prosecutors who selected a jury and who sought a capital conviction did not do so on the basis of race, that the jury that hears his or her case is impartial, and that the trial was free from prejudicial error of any kind. These rights are protected through multiple avenues of appeal, including direct appeal to the North Carolina Supreme Court, and discretionary review to the United States Supreme Court; a postconviction right to file a motion for appropriate relief at the trial court level where claims of racial discrimination may be heard; and again at the federal level through a petition of habeas corpus. A capital defendant prior to the passage of Article 101 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes had the right to raise the issue of whether a prosecutor sought the death penalty on the basis of race, whether the jury was selected on the basis of race, or any other matter which evidenced discrimination on the basis of race. All these same rights, existing prior to the enactment of Article 101 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes, remain the law of this State after its repeal.
SECTION 5.(c) Upon request of a district attorney, the Attorney General shall assume primary responsibility on behalf of that district attorney for the litigation in superior court or an appellate court of any claims or issues resulting from a petition for relief that has been or may be filed under the provisions of Article 101 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes or any issues or matters relating to the repeal of Article 101 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes, as provided in this act.
SECTION 5.(d) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, this section is retroactive and applies to any motion for appropriate relief filed pursuant to Article 101 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes prior to the effective date of this act. All motions filed pursuant to Article 101 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes prior to the effective date of this act are void. This section does not apply to a court order resentencing a petitioner to life imprisonment without parole pursuant to the provisions of Article 101 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes prior to the effective date of this act if the order is affirmed upon appellate review and becomes a final Order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. This section is applicable in any case where a court resentenced a petitioner to life imprisonment without parole pursuant to the provisions of Article 101 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes prior to the effective date of this act, and the Order is vacated upon appellate review by a court of competent jurisdiction.
SECTION 6. This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 13th day of June, 2013.
s/ Daniel J. Forest
President of the Senate
s/ Thom Tillis
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Pat McCrory
Governor
Approved 4:27 p.m. this 19th day of June, 2013
