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Facts & Research

Recent Legislative Activity

State legislatures and U.S. Congress frequently consider bills addressing death-penalty issues, including legislation to repeal capital punishment, reform it, or expand it.

Below are important pieces of death penalty legislation that have recently passed or are currently being considered. (DPIC welcomes additions and suggestions.)

(Left: A board displays the vote totals in the New Hampshire House of Representatives on HB 455, which would abolish the death penalty. (March 7, 2019))

2021 - Proposed legislation
States with bills to abolish death penalty indicated with *

Session dates via StateScape

ARKANSAS (Session dates: 01/11/2021 - 04/24/2021)
Bill numberBill DescriptionStatus
SB 28

Would make rape of a child a capital offense

Filed December 31, 2020
SB 29Would make trafficking of fentanyl a capital offenseFiled December 31, 2020
CALIFORNIA* (Session dates: 12/07/2020 - 11/30/2022)
Bill numberBill DescriptionStatus
ACA 2Would amend the California constitution to prohibit the death penalty from being imposed as a punishment for any violations of law.Read first time December 7, 2020.
INDIANA (Session dates: 01/04/2021 - 04/23/2021)
Bill numberBill DescriptionStatus
HB 1165Would make murder committed by a law enforcement officer acting within the scope of the officer’s duty an aggravating circumstance permitting imposition of the death penalty.First reading and referred to Committee on Courts and Criminal Code, January 7, 2021
SB 252Would provide that a person may not be sentenced to death unless: (1) the victim is a specified public safety officer and certain other circumstances apply; or (2) the person commits murder against two or more victims, and would reduce death sentences to life without parole for those sentenced to death for other crimesFirst reading and referred to Committee on Judiciary, January 11, 2021
KENTUCKY* (Session dates: 01/05/2021 - 03/31/2021)
Bill numberBill DescriptionStatus
SB 60Would abolish the death penalty and resentence current death-row prisoners to life without paroleIntroduced January 5, 2021
MISSOURI* (Session dates: 01/06/2021 - 05/30/2021)
Bill numberBill DescriptionStatus
HB 50/HB 127Would abolish the death penalty and resentence death-row prisoners to life without parole.Prefiled December 1, 2020
HB 157Would create the Change of Venue for Capital Cases Fund to reimburse a county that receives a capital case from another county for costs associated with the sequestering of jurorsPrefiled December 1, 2020
HB 278Would prohibit the death penalty for defendants with serious mental illnessPrefiled December 1, 2020. Read first time January 6, 2021.
HB 462Would require that a life sentence be imposed if the sentencing jury does not unanimously agree to a death sentence, repealing a provision that treated a non-unanimous vote as a hung jury and allowed the trial judge to determine the sentence.Prefiled December 14, 2021. Read first time January 6, 2021.
SOUTH CAROLINA* (Session dates: 01/12/2021 - 06/15/2022)
Bill numberBill DescriptionStatus
S 52

Would abolish the death penalty

Prefiled and referred to Committee on Judiciary, December 9, 2020
S 200Would make electrocution the default method of execution, and alter the process by which prisoners may elect lethal injection as their method of executionPrefiled and referred to Committee on Corrections and Penology, December 9, 2020.
TENNESSEE (Session dates: 01/12/2021 - 05/07/2021)
Bill numberBill DescriptionStatus
HB 1

Would allow a defendant who has been sentenced to the death penalty and whose conviction is final to petition the trial court for a determination of whether the defendant is ineligible for the death penalty due to intellectual disability

Filed for introduction, November 4, 2020
HB 47Would make a defendant convicted of first degree murder eligible for the death penalty if the victim was rendering assistance to a person in need at the time of their deathFiled for introduction, December 16, 2020
TEXAS* (Session dates: 01/12/2021 - 05/28/2021)
Bill numberBill DescriptionStatus
HB 77

Would disallow the death penalty in cases relying only on the testimony of a single eyewitness

Filed November 9, 2020
HB 140Would prohibit the death penalty for defendants with serious mental illnessFiled November 9, 2020
HB 215/HB 354/SB 188Would abolish the death penaltyHouse bills filed November 9, 2020, Senate bill filed November 13, 2020.
HB 252/SB 189Would require jury unanimity in certain sentencing decisions that currently only require agreement among 10 jurorsHouse bill filed November 9, 2020, Senate bill filed November 13, 2020
HB 679Would alter the standards for counsel in capital casesFiled November 30, 2020
HB 838Would repeal Texas’ “law of parties” in capital cases, removing death eligibility for minor participants in capital crimesFiled December 15, 2020
HB 841

Would allow clemency hearings to be conducted by telephone or videoconference

Filed December 15, 2020
HB 869/SB 80Would update the procedure for determining intellectual disability in capital casesFiled December 17, 2020
VIRGINIA* (Session dates: 01/13/2021 - 02/13/2021)
Bill numberBill DescriptionStatus
HB 1779/SB 1165/HB 2263

Would abolish the death penalty and resentence current death-row prisoners to life without parole

House bill 1779 prefiled and referred to Committee for Courts of Justice, December 29, 2020. House bill 2263 introduced January 13, 2021.

Senate bill 1165 prefiled and referred to Committee on the Judiciary, January 8, 2021. PASSED the Committee on the Judiciary on January 18 by a 10-4 vote. Rereferred to the Committee on Finance and Appropriations.

WASHINGTON* (Session dates: 01/11/2021 - 04/30/2022)
Bill numberBill DescriptionStatus
SB 5047

Would remove the death penalty from Washington’s laws, bringing it in line with the 2018 Washington Supreme Court ruling striking down the death penalty.

Prefiled December 31, 2020. First reading January 11, 2021, referred to Committee on Law & Justice.
SB 5099Would reinstate the death penalty for people who commit murder while incarcerated.Prefiled January 7, 2021. First reading January 11, 2021, referred to Committee on Law & Justice.
U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT* (Session dates: 01/03/2021 - 10/30/2022)
Bill numberBill DescriptionStatus
HR 72Would provide additional aggravating factors for the imposition of the federal death penaltyIntroduced January 4, 2021
HR 97/HR 262

Would abolish the federal death penalty

Introduced January 4, 2021

Colorado, Virginia State Senates Move to Abolish, Reform Death Penalty

Jan 31, 2020

Colorado, Virginia State Senates Move to Abolish, Reform Death Penalty

In leg­isla­tive votes 1,600 miles apart on January 30, 2020, state sen­ates in Colorado and Virginia took his­toric steps toward abol­ish­ing or reform­ing their state death-penal­ty sys­tems. After hours of emotio…

Read More

News & Developments


Jan 20, 2021

Democratic Legislators Introduce Death Penalty Repeal Bills, Urge President Biden to Commute Federal Death Sentences

Democratic mem­bers of the U.S. House and Senate have called on incom­ing President Joe Biden (pic­tured) to take quick action on his cam­paign pledge to end the fed­er­al death penal­ty. Legislators intro­duced three bills to abol­ish the…

Democratic Legislators Introduce Death Penalty Repeal Bills, Urge President Biden to Commute Federal Death Sentences

Jan 15, 2021

Virginia Legislators Poised to Attempt Death Penalty Repeal as Governor Sponsors Abolition Bill

Legislators in the Virginia House and Senate are poised to attempt a repeal of its cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment statute, as Governor Ralph Northam (pic­tured) announced that he would spon­sor a bill to end the commonwealth’s …

Virginia Legislators Poised to Attempt Death Penalty Repeal as Governor Sponsors Abolition Bill

Jan 11, 2021

Ohio Bars Death Penalty for People with Severe Mental Illness

Ohio has banned the death penal­ty for defen­dants who were severe­ly men­tal­ly ill at the time of the offense. On January 9, 2021, Governor Mike DeWine (pic­tured) signed into law House Bill 136, which pro­hibits impos…

Ohio Bars Death Penalty for People with Severe Mental Illness

Sep 04, 2020

California Legislature Passes Racial Justice Package Affecting Death-Penalty Practices

In the clos­ing days of its 2020 leg­isla­tive ses­sion, the California leg­is­la­ture passed a trio of racial jus­tice reform bills expect­ed to reduce the influ­ence of racial, eth­nic, and socioe­co­nom­ic bias in the admin­is­tra­tion of the d…

California Legislature Passes Racial Justice Package Affecting Death-Penalty Practices

Aug 19, 2020

In Move Raising Race, Gender, and Political Issues, Missouri Governor Seeks Authority for Attorney General to Prosecute St. Louis Homicide Cases

In a polit­i­cal maneu­ver that fur­ther inject­ed issues of race, gen­der, and polit­i­cal dis­en­fran­chise­ment into local law enforce­ment pol­i­cy, Missouri’s Republican Governor Mike Parson has asked state law­mak­ers to grant Republican sta…

In Move Raising Race, Gender, and Political Issues, Missouri Governor Seeks Authority for Attorney General to Prosecute St. Louis Homicide Cases

Aug 18, 2020

Nebraska Legislature Passes, Governor Vetoes Execution Transparency Bill

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts has vetoed a bill that would have increased trans­paren­cy in the state’s exe­cu­tion process. 

Nebraska Legislature Passes, Governor Vetoes Execution Transparency Bill

Aug 04, 2020

Angela McAnulty, Only Woman on Oregon’s Death Row, Resentenced to Life in Prison

The only woman on Oregon’s death row has been resen­tenced to life in prison. On August 3, 2020, the Lane County Circuit Court accept­ed a set­tle­ment agree­ment in which Lane County pros­e­cu­tors agreed to drop their appeal of a 2019 r…

Angela McAnulty, Only Woman on Oregon’s Death Row, Resentenced to Life in Prison

Jul 29, 2020

Commentary: Repealing Death Penalty ‘Essential to Racial Healing’ in Virginia

Recent police and vig­i­lante killings of Black Americans have ignit­ed a nation­al call for sys­temic reform of law enforce­ment across the coun­try, high­light­ing the link between extra­ju­di­cial abuse of force and wide­spread dis­crim­i­na­to­ry appli­ca­tion of…

Commentary: Repealing Death Penalty ‘Essential to Racial Healing’ in Virginia

Jul 21, 2020

Wyoming Governor “Very Seriously” Considering Death Penalty Moratorium

Calling cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment a ​“lux­u­ry” that the state can no longer afford, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon (pic­tured) told leg­is­la­tors that he is ​“very seri­ous­ly” con­sid­er­ing impos­ing a mora­to­ri­um on the state’s rarely-used death pen…

Wyoming Governor “Very Seriously” Considering Death Penalty Moratorium

Jun 18, 2020

Utah Reaches Ten Years With No Executions

Utah has become the lat­est U.S. state to have gone more than a decade with­out car­ry­ing out an exe­cu­tion. The state last put a pris­on­er to death on June 18, 2010, when it exe­cut­ed Ronnie Gardner by fir­ing squad. Utah joins…

Utah Reaches Ten Years With No Executions
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In This Section

  • Pre-2007 Legislation by Jurisdiction

Previous Years


  • 2020 Legislation
  • 2019 Legislation
  • 2018 Legislation
  • 2017 Legislation
  • 2016 Legislation
  • 2015 Legislation
  • 2014 Legislation
  • 2013 Legislation
  • 2012 Legislation
  • 2011 Legislation

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