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Committee approves bill to limit retrial after sentencing‑phase mistrial in capital cases
Summary
The committee voted to pass HB 17‑31, which clarifies that a mistrial in the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial need not undo a valid guilty verdict; prosecutors could ask the judge to impose life without parole or seek a new sentencing jury.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to pass House Bill 17‑31 after hearing from prosecutors and defense counsel about a procedural problem exposed in a recent Northwest Arkansas capital case.
Senator Bart Hester introduced the bill and yielded to Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith, who described the issue that prompted the measure: under Arkansas’s "same jury" provision, a mistrial in the sentencing phase had been interpreted to require retrial of the entire case, including the guilt phase. Smith told the…
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