Bills to abolish the death penalty did not pass

Bills to abolish the death penalty did not pass. A bill to lower the age of eligibility for the death penalty from 17 to 16 was also defeated, as was a bill to eliminate the death penalty for the mentally retarded. The latter bill, sponsored by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, passed the Senate on April 21 but was opposed by Gov. Bush and was defeated in a House committee. The state did pass legislation modifying the procedures for state habeas corpus in capital cases. Lawyers who file petitions late can be punished and there are limits for compensation from the state for work done by attorneys. A bill to allow the death penalty for murders motivated by bias or prejudice was introduced, but then withdrawn. A bill to provide an indigent defendant with counsel within 20 days of his request, and changing the system of appointment of such attorneys, was passed by the legislature but vetoed by the Governor. Bills to establish a form of the racial justice act, and to expand the death penalty to include crimes where the victim was protected by a court order against the defendant, or where the victim was tortured, or when the victim is under 13 years of age and the defendant has been previously involved in abuse or neglect of the victim, were all defeated. The state passed legislation that will provide the jury with instructions, upon written request from the defendant, that if sentenced to life the defendant will not be eligible for parole for at least 40 years. The state also specifically forbade the execution of the mentally incompetent, that is, someone who does not understand what is about to happen to him or her. (Such executions are already forbidden under the U.S. Constitution.)