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House committee advances bill tightening timelines for capital felony reviews
Summary
The House Judiciary Committee advanced HB 495, a package of changes to capital-felony procedure that would require early prescreening for intellectual disability, set tight deadlines for competency evaluations and alter appellate jurisdiction to speed post-conviction review. Supporters said it reduces decades-long delays; critics warned it risks constitutional conflict and rushed outcomes.
Representative Pucci opened testimony on House Bill 495, telling the Judiciary Committee the measure "is about process" rather than the morality of capital punishment and that it aims to shorten Utah's lengthy post-conviction timelines.
The bill would require an early prescreening for intellectual disability — including an IQ test — and would trigger a hearing if the prescreening score is 75 or lower. William Haynes of the attorney general's office described the design as reflecting U.S. Supreme Court guidance, saying the prescreening "would establish... whether the defendant has significant subaverage intellectual functioning" and that the bill allows defendants to present evidence to rebut a prescreening that shows 76 or higher.
HB 495 also clarifies and narrows some direct-appeal jurisdiction: claims of ineffective assistance of counsel on…
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