Bill > H1387

This bill proposes to reinstitute capital punishment in Massachusetts. The key provisions are: 1. It creates a new section in the law to specify the process for seeking the death penalty, including requiring the prosecution to allege specific aggravating circumstances in the indictment. 2. It updates the method of execution to be by lethal injection. 3. It establishes a system for the state to provide qualified legal counsel for indigent defendants facing capital charges and for those sentenced to death who are seeking appeals or collateral review. 4. It details the procedures for the sentencing phase, including the specific aggravating and mitigating factors the jury must consider in determining whether to impose the death penalty. 5. It creates an independent scientific review process to thoroughly evaluate the forensic evidence used in any capital case where the death penalty is imposed. 6. It gives the Supreme Judicial Court the authority to review death sentences and overturn them if certain conditions are not met, such as the evidence not supporting the jury's findings or the sentence being imposed under arbitrary factors.

Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H1387