HB 5445 - Death Penalty Reform

• Establishes a Death Penalty Authorization Committee composed of the Chief State's Attorney and district state's attorneys that must approve all requests to seek the death penalty before prosecution can proceed.

• Implements procedural safeguards including electronic recording of custodial interrogations of murder suspects, standardized eyewitness identification procedures, and pretrial reliability hearings for informant testimony in capital cases.

• Allows defendants to challenge death sentences based on evidence that race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation of the defendant or victim was a significant factor in seeking the death penalty, with burden of proof on defendant by clear and convincing evidence.

• Modifies death sentence appeals and stays of execution procedures, requiring Supreme Court review for proportionality with similar cases and establishing automatic stays during direct appeals and habeas corpus proceedings.

• Requires state agencies to collect and maintain data on capital felony cases including defendant and victim demographics, case outcomes, and costs, and establishes training programs and support units for defense attorneys in capital cases.