Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Senate advances bill setting process to exclude mentally retarded from death penalty
Summary
After extended floor debate, the Utah Senate advanced Senate Bill 8 — a comprehensive response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on executing people with mental retardation — to the third‑reading calendar. The bill designates a judge to decide initial mental‑retardation claims and requires a preponderance‑of‑evidence showing by the defendant.
The Utah Senate on Feb. 4 advanced Senate Bill 8 to third reading after an extended floor debate over procedure and safeguards for capital cases involving claims of mental retardation.
Sponsor Senator Gladwell said the bill implements protections required by the U.S. Supreme Court and ‘‘incorporates those 11 areas that were agreed upon’’ by stakeholders including prosecutors, defense counsel and disability advocates. The bill creates a definition for mental retardation in the criminal context, requires a written notice and the…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
