More Amendments To Jessica’s Law

Castro has a conforming amendment. It is here. Acceptable to Gaddis, was adopted.

Dutton now has an amendment. If it is adopted, it will be his first one adopted on HB 8. It is his sixth amendment to the bill. It requires unanimous verdicts, and I predict it will fail, though I think it sounds like a good amendment.

He is noting you can avoid child prosecutions and alleviate some problems where families won’t prosecute because a family member could get the death penalty. He notes, “it will go so far underground you just won’t get it recorded.”

Short of removing the death penalty from the bill all together (which I’d favor), this is one option that is worth considering.

Gattis says, “if you are not for the death penalty, then you know where you are going to be on this vote.”

Gattis recognizes that Dutton has legitimate concerns, but says they have been considered. “At some point you have to say enough is enough,” he noted.

Gattis moves to table; Dutton closes. Cohen is up now to ask a question. She says she doesn’t think Gattis’s characterization of the vote being pro or anti-death penalty is accurate.

Cohen is making excellent points from personal experience in her position from before she came to the Lege. She noted that if the death penalty were in play in many of the cases (which involve family members), the children wouldn’t testify.

“It would seem to me that would be the most egregious thing we can do to young people,” Cohen said.

Then Riddle came up and they argued over various aspects of the death penalty vs. life in prison.

105-43, motion to table prevails and Dutton is 0-6. This one should have passed, though, but people don’t want to be seen as anti-death penalty evidently.

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