HB682: HB682 Criminal procedure; death penalty shall not be imposed if only evidence is testimony of a single eyewitness; provide

Under current Georgia law, a jury can impose the death penalty based on the evidence presented at trial, including eyewitness testimony, without a specific rule limiting reliance on a lone witness. This bill would change that by adding a new subsection to Georgia's death penalty procedure law (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-30). The new provision states that the death penalty cannot be imposed if the only evidence of a defendant's guilt is the testimony of a single eyewitness. The bill does not change how the death penalty is imposed in cases with other kinds of evidence, such as physical evidence, multiple witnesses, or a confession. It repeals any conflicting laws but does not include a specific effective date beyond the standard process for bills signed into law.

• Adds a new subsection (d) to Georgia's death penalty procedure statute (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-30) barring imposition of the death penalty in certain cases.
• Prohibits a death sentence when the sole evidence supporting a defendant's guilt is one eyewitness's testimony, with no other corroborating evidence.
• Leaves the rest of the death penalty imposition process, including cases with additional evidence, unchanged.
• Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this new limitation.

Defendants facing capital murder charges in Georgia, prosecutors deciding whether to seek the death penalty, judges and juries in capital trials, and eyewitnesses whose testimony forms part of the prosecution's case.

In capital cases resting solely on one eyewitness identification, prosecutors would no longer be able to pursue a death sentence, which could affect charging decisions and trial strategy in a small but consequential category of Georgia murder cases.

• Section 1 amends Code Section 17-10-30, which governs the procedure for imposing the death penalty, by adding subsection (d).
• New subsection (d) bars the death penalty when the only evidence of guilt is a single eyewitness's testimony.
• Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the Act.

1. 2025-03-04House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-03-03House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-28House Hopper (House)

• Billy Mitchell (D, HD-088)Primary sponsor

• death penalty
• criminal procedure
• eyewitness testimony
• capital punishment law