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Senate approves procedures to implement Atkins ruling, adds sentencing remand option
Summary
Senate Bill 8, drafted in response to Atkins v. Virginia, passed after a friendly amendment clarifying appellate remand and sentencing options when mental-retardation determinations are reversed on appeal.
Senate Bill 8, the Legislature's response to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Atkins v. Virginia, advanced on Feb. 7 with a bipartisan, floor-approved amendment aimed at protecting defendants while preserving judicial efficiency.
Senator Gladwell introduced the bill as a procedural framework to ensure mentally retarded defendants are not executed, explaining the bill places the initial burden of proof on the defendant and assigns early determinations to a judge. Senator Hilliard described a…
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