HB 607-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
04/10
HOUSE BILL 607-FN
AN ACT relative to the death penalty.
SPONSORS: Rep. Splaine, Rock 16; Rep. Morrison, Belk 2; Rep. Pilliod, Belk 5; Rep. DiFruscia, Rock 4; Rep. McEachern, Rock 16
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill removes the death sentence from the capital murder statute and replaces it with life imprisonment, until death, without the possibility of parole.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0025
04/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT relative to the death penalty.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Homicide; Capital Murder. Amend RSA 630:1, III to read as follows:
III. A person convicted of a capital murder [may be punished by death] shall be sentenced to life imprisonment, until death, without the possibility of parole.
2 Repeal. RSA 630:5, relative to procedure in capital murder, is repealed.
3 Applicability. This act shall only apply to those persons charged with capital murder on or after the effective date of this act.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2008.
LBAO
07-0025
1/3/07
HB 607-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to the death penalty.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council and Department of Justice indicates this bill may decrease state general fund expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill will decrease the penalty for capital murder from the death penalty to a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. This bill may result in a savings to the Branch because there will be no penalty phase trial, which is required in a death penalty case, and because life in prison cases are less hard-fought than cases in which the death penalty is a possible outcome. New Hampshire has seen so few capital murder indictments since the enactment of the current criminal code in 1971 that any savings could not be estimated.
The Judicial Council states this bill may result in an indeterminable savings due to the repeal of the death penalty statute. There will continue to be significant costs associated with bringing these cases forward even without the death penalty as life without parole remains a significant sentence which requires a zealous and skillful defense. In general terms these costs do not usually approximate or equal those associated with a complete capital trial and sentencing phase, and all the subsequent appeals that may result from a conviction under the death penalty.
The Department of Justice states the prosecution of non-death penalty cases do not require long-term dedicated resources and are generally absorbed within the Department’s budget, thus the passage of this bill will result in the State avoiding any additional appropriation requests for the prosecution and post-conviction costs of death penalty cases. The Department states for a death penalty case, during the pre-trial, trial, and sentencing phases of litigation, approximately a three-year period, requires a minimum of two additional full-time attorneys, a part-time secretary, and a full-time paralegal. In addition, the Department will incur litigation expenses for such items as expert witnesses and travel and lodging for witnesses. Post-conviction litigation requires one attorney and a part-time paralegal.
The Department of Corrections states that any fiscal impact to the Department cannot be determined, however; the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population was $31,140 in FY 2006.