Bills to Limit the Death Penalty before the Missouri House and Senate

For more detailed news about each of these bills please visit the Legislative Update page.

House:

House Bill HB-68, sponsored by Rep. Chris Liese (D-Maryland Heights), would impose a two-year moratorium on executions while a commission studies various issues of the death penalty, including arbitrariness, racism, possible innocence and the income of those condemned.

House Bill HB265, sponsored by Rep. Craig Hosmer (D-Springfield), would prohibit death sentencing of mentally-retarded offenders.

House Bill HB369, co-sponsored by Rep. Bill Boucher (D-Kansas City) and another dozen legislators (including Rep. Vicky Riback-Wilson and Rep. Tim Harlan, both Columbia Democrats) will also halt death sentencing of mentally-retarded individuals.

The latter two (HB265 & HB369) are identical bills which would prevent mentally-retarded defendants from receiving a death sentence, and will likely be combined as one bill at some point in the legislative process.

Rep. Riback Wilson (751-1169), in addition, will be introducing a bill to abolish the death penalty. This bill had not been assigned a number at the time of this writing.

Senate:

Senate Bill SB55, sponsored by Sen. Mary Bland (D-Kansas City; 573-751-2770), would also impose a moratorium on executions and establish a study commission.

Senate Bill SB192 sponsored by Sen. John Schneider (D-Florissant; 751-4106), would prohibit capital punishment for someone convicted of first-degree murder who is found to be mentally retarded.

*Please contact these legislators as well as your own legislator via their Capitol offices by phone or writing them c/o the Missouri House or Senate, Jefferson City 65102. Thank them for sponsoring the legislation. And urge your representative and senator to support the bills. Stay tuned for information on upcoming committee hearings for the bills.
If you are not sure who your legislators are the Senate has a web page to help you.

*To be part of an e-mail/phone alert system, please contact Jeff at 573-449-4585 or e-mail jstack@coin.org.

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