--- title: HB 682. Criminal procedure; death penalty shall not be imposed if only evidence is testimony of a single eyewitness; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb682 cite_as: HB 682, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb682 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb682.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb682/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71014 date: 2025-03-04 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb681.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb683.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb682.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 682 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-28 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Billy Mitchell text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB682/2025 upstream_id: 1989257 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - death penalty - criminal procedure - eyewitness testimony - capital punishment law --- # HB 682. Criminal procedure; death penalty shall not be imposed if only evidence is testimony of a single eyewitness; provide ## Text House Bill 682 By: Representative Mitchell of the 88th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the death penalty generally, so as to provide that the death penalty shall not be imposed if the only evidence of the defendant's guilt is the testimony of a single eyewitness; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the death penalty generally, is amended by revising Code Section 17-10-30, relating to the procedure for imposition of death penalty generally, by adding a new subsection to read as follows: "(d) The death penalty shall not be imposed in cases in which the only evidence of a defendant's guilt is the testimony of a single eyewitness." SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House bill would bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in cases where a single eyewitness's testimony is the only evidence of the defendant's guilt. ### Plain-language summary 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. ### What it does - 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. ### Who it affects 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. ### Why it matters 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. ### Key provisions - 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. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-28) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-03-04) - Sponsors: Billy Mitchell - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71014 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb682.md?full=1