Texas Senate Bill 990: Expanding Death Penalty for Child Murderers

Expansion of Texas Death Penalty Law

• 📌 Texas Senate Bill 990 is advancing, proposing to expand the death penalty to include individuals convicted of murdering children.
• ⚖️ Currently, Texas law exempts those convicted of killing children between the ages of 10 and 15 from the death penalty.
• 🎯 This bill aims to eliminate that exemption, making the potential punishments death or life in prison without parole.

Case of Joselyn Narvaez

• 💔 The mother of Joselyn Narvaez, a 12-year-old girl who was raped and murdered, testified in support of the bill.
• ⚖️ Her accused killers were initially charged with capital murder, and later with sexual assault, which made them eligible for the death penalty.

Legislative Support

• 👏 Lawmakers voted unanimously to send the bill to the full Senate for a vote.
• ⚠️ Despite the unanimous committee vote, legislators acknowledge that the measure will not be easy to pass through the full Senate.