# Eric's Law: Plain Language Summary

Eric's Law changes how the federal death penalty process works when a jury can't agree unanimously on a sentence. Currently, if a jury is split on whether someone convicted of a capital crime should receive the death penalty, life in prison, or something else, the judge makes the final decision. This bill would require the government to start over with a brand new jury if the first jury fails to reach unanimous agreement on the sentence.

The law applies specifically to a narrow group of people: inmates who are already serving life sentences for murder and who are then convicted of committing another murder while in prison. If such a defendant is convicted of this second murder and the jury cannot unanimously agree on the sentence, the prosecution can ask the court to dismiss that jury and bring in a completely new jury to hold another sentencing hearing. This new jury would go through the entire process again to try to reach a unanimous recommendation on whether the defendant should face death, life imprisonment, or another sentence.

If even the second jury cannot reach unanimous agreement, the judge then imposes a sentence other than death—meaning the defendant would not receive the death penalty. The bill essentially gives prosecutors a second chance to convince a jury to unanimously recommend death, but it also guarantees that if two juries both fail to unanimously agree, the death penalty is off the table. This is a significant change because it makes it harder for death sentences to be imposed in these specific cases, since prosecutors would need to convince not just one but potentially two separate juries to unanimously agree on capital punishment.

Eric’s Law

Thompson, Glenn

Eric's Law This bill modifies procedures with respect to capital sentencing hearings involving a defendant who is serving a life sentence for murder and, while serving the life sentence, is convicted of another murder. If a jury at a capital sentencing hearing does not reach a unanimous recommendation on the defendant's sentence and there is a motion by the attorney for the government, the court must order a new special sentencing hearing and impanel a new jury. If the new jury at the special sentencing hearing does not reach a unanimous recommendation on the defendant's sentence, then the court is prohibited from imposing a death sentence.