The SB 990 raises the age threshold for capital eligibility between the ages of 10 and 15. I’m heading home now.
AUSTIN, Texas — On Wednesday, Texas senators passed a bill that expands Texas’ capital murder eligibility.
Senate Bill 990 heads to the House of Representatives for a vote there. If it passes the House vote, it lands at Governor Greg Abbott’s desk for him to sign it into law.
To date, Texas law does not allow death penalty for those convicted of murdering children between the ages of 10 and 15. The SB 990 eliminates that exemption. This measure also punishes either death or life in prison.
“We are all tired of the ongoing massacre of our innocent children,” said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, author of SB 990. “If you kill the children in Texas, you’ll do more than just time – you’ll be subject to the death penalty.”
The SB 990 was voted 26-5.
Last week, parents of children killed urged lawmakers to support the bill. The Texas Senate Committee on Criminal Justice has since voted to send Senate Bill 990 to the full Senate for vote.
Parents plead
Alexis Nungarei spoke in Austin last Tuesday. She is Jocelyn Nungary’s mother, and was sexually assaulted and murdered in North Houston last year. Her defendant murderer was initially charged with murder and later charged with sexual assault and inducing, and was subject to death penalty.
Related: Texas Panel Supports Bills to Extend the Death Penalty to Kill Children
“I don’t think she should be qualified just because she is 12 years old (for the accused murderer to be sentenced to death). They all have to count their children. They should be our future. They should be proud of us. They can’t protect them.
April Aguirre is Arlene Alvarez’s aunt. Arlene was nine years old when he was shot dead in 2022. Aguirre tried to help lawmakers pass the bill. She was in Austin to support 11-year-old Maria Gonzalez. He says her body was sexually assaulted and strangled before it was placed in a garbage bag and hidden under a bed in Pasadena. Her defendant murderer has been charged with capital murder but has not faced the death penalty.
“It’s horrifying, we haven’t had this in place yet, and it’s sad. It was difficult to explain to Mr. Gonzalez that the death penalty for a man who has no mercy for his daughter was not at the table. Why we give them the same mercy that gave them the victims of crime,” Aguirre said.
Highlights of SB 990
Expand capital murder eligibility: Increase the threshold for capital murder charges from under 10 to under 15 to apply for those who kill children aged 10-15. Convicted offender Stranger’s sentence: Convicted offenders face death penalty or prison life without parole. The SB 990 eliminates this loophole. Enhanced prosecutor’s tools: Provide law enforcement and prosecutors with a stronger legal basis for pursuing the death penalty for child murderers and stop future crimes.
