Committee backs bill raising burden of proof for death sentence during penalty phase

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted to send House Bill 166 to the speaker after members debated changes to the burden of proof in death penalty sentencing.

Committee counsel described the bill, saying, “House Bill 166 requires the Commonwealth to prove during the sentencing phase of a death penalty trial that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt to impose a sentence of death.” Counsel also said the bill takes effect in 60 days and that there were no amendments.

Representative Bonner, the sponsor, urged support and framed the change as aligning the sentencing-phase burden of proof with the guilt phase, saying jurors should have the same “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard before the state seeks to impose a sentence of death. Bonner summarized historical Supreme Court concerns from 1972 about arbitrary application of the death penalty and outlined the two-phase structure that many states adopted after that decision.

Representative Hohenstein said the bill “reflects a better balancing of the very weighty considerations” involved in capital cases and said he would vote yes. Representative Rabe said the bill’s language promotes fairness and inclusive considerations and that it should garner bipartisan support. Representative Borowicz was recorded as a negative vote; the chair asked to record everyone else as affirmative and the committee referred the bill to the speaker.

The committee record indicates the bill was advanced without amendments and will next be considered for scheduling by the speaker’s office.