HB 1154: Criminal procedure; imposition of death penalty; include offense of trafficking of persons for labor and sexual servitude

Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-30) lists specific 'aggravating circumstances' that a judge or jury must consider when deciding whether to impose the death penalty in eligible cases. Currently those circumstances reference crimes like murder, rape, armed robbery, and kidnapping. This bill adds the offense of trafficking of persons for labor or sexual servitude to several of those aggravating circumstance categories, meaning that when a trafficking offense is linked to a capital case, prosecutors could point to it as a factor supporting a death sentence. The bill also makes a small wording update, replacing gendered pronouns like 'his' with neutral or clarified language in a couple of spots, and adds 'solicitor' to the list of officials whose murder during official duties counts as an aggravating circumstance. The changes would apply only to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026; crimes committed before that date would continue to be prosecuted under the current version of the law.

• Adds trafficking of persons for labor or sexual servitude to five of the statutory aggravating circumstances used in death penalty sentencing decisions under O.C.G.A. § 17-10-30.
• Allows a prior conviction for trafficking of persons to count as an aggravating circumstance if the defendant has a prior capital felony record involving trafficking.
• Adds 'solicitor' alongside solicitor-general and district attorney as officials whose murder during official duties is an aggravating circumstance.
• Updates some pronoun language in the existing statute from 'his' to gender-neutral or clarified wording.
• Limits the changes to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026, leaving earlier cases to be prosecuted under the law as it currently stands.

Prosecutors and judges handling capital cases in Georgia, defendants charged with human trafficking offenses linked to murder or other capital crimes, and victims of trafficking whose cases could now factor into death penalty sentencing decisions in relevant prosecutions.

If enacted, prosecutors could cite a defendant's trafficking-related conduct as grounds for seeking the death penalty in qualifying capital cases, potentially increasing the likelihood of a death sentence in cases involving both trafficking and a capital offense like murder, starting with crimes committed after July 1, 2026.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 17-10-30(b) to insert 'trafficking of persons for labor or sexual servitude' into aggravating circumstances numbers (1), (2), (7), and (11).
• Section 1 also adds 'solicitor' to the list of officials in circumstance (5) whose murder during official duties is an aggravating factor.
• Section 2 makes the changes apply only to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026, and preserves prior law for earlier offenses.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-04House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-03House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-02House Hopper (House)

• David Clark (R, HD-100)Primary sponsor
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• Joseph Gullett (R, HD-019)
• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)
• Derrick McCollum (R, HD-030)
• Karen Mathiak (R, HD-082)

• death penalty
• human trafficking
• criminal sentencing
• criminal procedure