SB 39 - This act prohibits a judge from sentencing a defendant to death if a jury has deadlocked on the issue of punishment, and requires the sentence to be life without parole.

The act also prohibits a death sentence in first degree murder case involving a defendant determined to be mentally retarded. The court must determine that the person on trial was mentally retarded prior to committing the crime. A person is considered mentally retarded under this section if he meets all three of the following: in the bottom 3% of the population in intelligence (an I.Q. of 70 or below is one way to determine this); has significant impairments in his behavior; and if his retardation appeared before age 18.

The act is similar to SB 702 and SB 703 from 1998.
JOAN GUMMELS