HB 682: Criminal procedure; death penalty shall not be imposed if only evidence is testimony of a single eyewitness; provide

Under current Georgia law, juries can impose the death penalty based on the evidence presented at trial, including eyewitness testimony, without a specific rule addressing cases that rely on a single eyewitness. This bill would add a new subsection to Georgia's death penalty procedure law (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-30) stating that the death penalty cannot be imposed if the only evidence of a defendant's guilt is the testimony of one eyewitness. The bill is short: it adds this single new rule to the existing code section and repeals any conflicting laws. It does not change how the death penalty may be imposed in cases supported by other kinds of evidence, such as physical evidence, multiple witnesses, or confessions.

• Adds a new subsection to Georgia's death penalty law (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-30) barring imposition of the death penalty when a single eyewitness's testimony is the only evidence of guilt.
• Leaves unchanged the rules for imposing the death penalty in cases supported by additional evidence beyond one eyewitness's account.
• Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this new rule.

The change affects criminal defendants facing capital murder charges in Georgia, prosecutors who decide whether to seek the death penalty, judges overseeing capital trials, and juries that decide sentencing in death penalty cases resting heavily on eyewitness identification.

If enacted, prosecutors could no longer pursue a death sentence in a capital case built solely on one person's eyewitness identification, a category of evidence courts and researchers have long recognized as subject to error, potentially changing outcomes in a narrow set of capital trials.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 17-10-30, the code section governing the procedure for imposing the death penalty, by adding new subsection (d).
• New subsection (d) states the death penalty shall not be imposed if the only evidence of guilt is the testimony of a single eyewitness.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws but does not otherwise alter existing death penalty procedures.

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

• Billy Mitchell (D, HD-088)Patrocinador principal

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