83R8933 JRR-D
 
  By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 2458
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to prohibiting seeking or imposing the death penalty on
  the basis of a person's race.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Title 1, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended
  by adding Chapter 53 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 53. PROCEDURE IN CERTAIN DEATH PENALTY CASES
         Art. 53.01.  RACIAL DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. No person
  shall be subject to or given a sentence of death or executed under
  any judgment that was sought or obtained on the basis of race.
         Art. 53.02.  PROOF OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION; PROCEDURE. (a)
  To be eligible to file a motion under this chapter, the defendant
  must knowingly and voluntarily waive any objection to the
  imposition of a sentence to life imprisonment without parole based
  on any common law, statutory law, or provision of the federal or
  state constitution that would otherwise require that the defendant
  be eligible for parole. The waiver must be in writing, signed by
  the defendant, and included in the motion seeking relief under this
  article.
         (b)  If the court determines that a hearing is required under
  Subsection (h), the court shall make an oral inquiry of the
  defendant on the record to confirm the defendant's waiver to the
  imposition of a sentence to life imprisonment without parole. If
  the court grants relief under this article, the judgment must
  include the finding that the defendant waived any objection to the
  imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment without parole.
         (c)  The defendant has the burden of proving by a
  preponderance of the evidence that race was a significant factor in
  the decision to seek or impose the sentence of death in the county
  at the time the death sentence was sought or imposed. For the
  purposes of this article, "the time the death sentence was sought or
  imposed" is the period from 10 years before the date of the
  commission of the offense to the date that is two years after the
  date the death sentence is imposed.
         (d)  The state may offer evidence in rebuttal of the
  defendant's claims or evidence, including statistical evidence.
  The court may consider evidence of the impact on the defendant's
  trial of any program the purpose of which is to eliminate race as a
  factor in seeking or imposing a sentence of death.
         (e)  Evidence to establish a finding that race was a
  significant factor in the decision to seek or impose the sentence of
  death in the county at the time the death sentence was sought or
  imposed may include:
               (1)  statistical evidence derived from the county where
  the defendant was sentenced to death; or
               (2)  other evidence specific to the defendant's case
  showing that the race of the defendant was a significant factor in
  the decision to seek or impose the sentence of death, including
  evidence showing that race was a significant factor in the decision
  to exercise peremptory challenges during jury selection.
         (f)  The evidence under Subsection (e)(2) may include sworn
  testimony of an attorney, prosecutor, law enforcement officer,
  judicial official, juror, or other person involved in the criminal
  justice system. Testimony by a juror under this subsection must
  comply with Rule 606(b), Texas Rules of Evidence.
         (g)  Statistical evidence alone is not sufficient to
  establish that race was a significant factor in the decision to seek
  or impose the sentence of death.
         (h)  A motion filed under this article must state with
  particularity how the evidence supports a claim that race was a
  significant factor in the decision to seek or impose the sentence of
  death in the defendant's case in the county at the time the death
  sentence was sought or imposed. The claim must be raised by the
  defendant at the pretrial conference or hearing under Article 28.01
  or in any postconviction proceeding. If the court finds that the
  defendant's motion fails to state a sufficient claim under this
  article, the court shall dismiss the claim without an evidentiary
  hearing. If the court finds that the defendant's motion states a
  sufficient claim under this article, the court shall set a hearing
  on the claim and may prescribe a time before the hearing for each
  party to present a summary of the evidence the party intends to
  introduce.
         (i)  If the court finds that race was a significant factor in
  a decision to seek or impose the sentence of death in the
  defendant's case at the time the death sentence was sought or
  imposed, the court shall order that a death sentence not be sought,
  or that the death sentence imposed by the judgment be vacated and
  the defendant resentenced to life imprisonment without the
  possibility of parole.
         (j)  Filing a motion under this article does not limit or
  restrict the defendant's eligibility for any other postconviction
  procedure authorized by this code, including another action under
  this chapter.  The provisions of Article 28.01 prohibiting further
  adjudication of certain matters not raised at a pretrial hearing do
  not apply to matters related to a defendant's motion under this
  article.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 53, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added
  by this Act, applies to a defendant alleged to have committed a
  capital offense regardless of whether the alleged offense was
  committed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 3.   This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.