Schaefer Adds Amendment to Capital Murder Measure
Posted/updated on: June 23, 2013 at 4:12 pm
TYLER — Republican State Rep. Matt Schaefer of Tyler adds his voice to legislative activity involving capital murder punishment. The Texas House on Friday tentatively approved a revised bill adjusting the sentence for 17-year-olds who commit capital murder, adding life without parole as an option even though the U.S. Supreme Court earlier banned that punishment. According to a news release, Schaefer successfully proposed an amendment to Senate Bill 23, which ultimately passed by a vote of 110-28.
“This (amended) bill preserves life without parole for the worst 17-year-old offenders,” said Schaefer, who proposed adding the no-parole option back into law. “This bill without my amendment will take life without parole off the table — basically say when a heinous act occurs, we wouldn’t have the option of saying this person will be taken out of society.”
The issue was added to the special session due to a fact that a year ago, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a sentence of life without parole for 17-year-olds convicted of capital murder charges in an Alabama case. That barred Texas’ punishment as well as those in other states. The amended bill must still be approved in a final House vote, expected on Sunday.
