CA AB2657

Requires the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to appoint 3 psychiatrists or licensed psychologists (instead of "alienists") to examine death row inmates and assess their competence to be executed, with reports distributed to the inmate, Attorney General, district attorney, and Governor.

Allows inmates to petition for relief based on permanent incompetence to be executed at any time after direct appeal, with renewed petitions permitted if there are changes in diagnosis, prognosis, or law.

Defines "permanent incompetence to be executed" as the inmate's present incompetence combined with a mental illness or disorder that makes restoration of competence unlikely.

Requires courts to vacate death sentences and resentence inmates to life without parole if found permanently incompetent to be executed by a preponderance of the evidence.

Removes the right to a jury trial on incompetence for execution and eliminates the requirement for district attorneys to attend competency hearings; makes the Attorney General responsible for filing petitions if the inmate lacks counsel.