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Committee Advances 'Desiree's Law' to Allow Homicide Prosecutions When Earlier Attack Later Causes Death
Summary
The committee favorably recommended SB92, a narrowly framed change that lets prosecutors seek homicide charges when earlier criminal conduct that caused serious bodily injury later results in the victim's death; sponsors cited Desiree Turner’s case, while defense groups urged narrowing and protections for sentencing credit.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to favorably recommend SB92, a prosecution amendment aimed at allowing subsequent homicide charges when a previous prosecution resolved after an attack and the victim later dies from injuries sustained in that assault.
Senator Wilson, the bill sponsor, presented SB92 as a targeted fix to allow prosecutors to pursue homicide charges in rare cases where the victim initially survived but later succumbed to complications. He said the bill is intended as a "very narrow third exception" to statutes limiting retrial and double‑jeopardy in order to reflect the full harm when death eventually occurs.
Cache County officials and the victim's family described the case that shaped the bill. Dane Murray (Cache County) outlined the 2017 attack; April Turner, the victim’s mother, described her daughter Desiree’s lengthy medical ordeal and wrote that her survival led to years of pain and thousands of procedures. "Survival did not spare my daughter," she said, and urged lawmakers to close what she called an injustice that treats delayed death as a technicality.
Defense organizations, including the Utah Defense Lawyers Association and the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association, voiced constitutional concerns and urged changes. Mark Moffett and Richard Maher recommended clarifying the mens rea and limiting coverage to "serious bodily injury" and proximate cause; they also suggested providing sentencing credit for time already served and considering a time limit between the original injury and later death.
Senators signaled openness to further drafting: the sponsor said he was working with the sentencing commission and defense counsel to refine language and acknowledged the need to consider credit for time served. The committee moved the bill as amended and favorably recommended it by voice; the transcript records the committee's favorable recommendation and that senators present supported advancing the measure to the floor.
The bill, as presented, requires that (1) the earlier offense caused bodily injury; (2) the victim later died from that injury or as a proximate result of it; and (3) the earlier prosecution ended in conviction or dismissal. The committee emphasized it intends further discussions to address defense suggestions before final passage.
