Bail and the death penalty are the focus of Delaware lawmakers at the end of the session
The final days of the General Assembly included discussions on the death penalty, police confiscation of private money, and reform of Delaware’s bail system.
Meanwhile, a major project to reform the state’s parole system was quietly put on hold by MPs in the final days of the session – at least for this year – without a vote.
What follows is a brief overview of some criminal justice initiatives that were passed, rejected, or stalled in the final days of this year’s legislative session.
How dead is the death penalty in Delaware?
Although it is as good as dead, it was nevertheless the subject of two passionately debated bills this year.
After rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Delaware Supreme Court in 2016 invalidated the state’s death penalty system, no one is on death row in Delaware and no death sentences are being imposed. However, the death penalty remains enshrined in both Delaware’s criminal laws and the state constitution, and lawmakers could change the way Delaware implements the death penalty to continue using it.
Therefore, the abolitionists introduced two related bills that year: one to remove the atonement law from the penal code, and another to remove the atonement law from the law.
They argue that the crime must be struck from the statute books because Delaware has a long history of reinstating the penalty after court decisions have been invalidated for decades. Republican lawmakers introduced a bill to reinstate the penalty just last year.
The debate over the law has also shown that there is still a desire, especially among Republican lawmakers, to resume the state’s practice of killing.
Previous reporting: Lawmakers repeal death penalty, fate of constitutional amendment unclear
Ultimately, the bill to remove this penalty from state penal codes passed both houses.
However, the constitutional amendment bill was not brought to a vote by Democratic leaders in the House until the last day of the session on Sunday. Constitutional amendments require more votes in favor than legislative amendments to pass. So the Democrats needed support from Republicans in the House, which they did not get, and the bill failed.
The amendment passed by lawmakers now awaits the signature of Governor John Carney.
Democrats stick to parole reform efforts:
No other criminal justice bill received as much support among progressive Democrats last year as the proposal to reform the state’s parole system – a proposal that ultimately did not come to a vote this legislative session.
Senate Bill 4 originally proposed sweeping reforms aimed at significantly reducing the number of people re-incarcerated for formal violations of their parole – violations such as missing a curfew – and reducing the potential length of parole a person could face in Delaware.
But over the past year, the proposal has been watered down due to opposition from law enforcement and corrections officials. The bill went through four revisions, with the most recent revision accompanied by a separate bill that would establish a task force to further discuss parole reforms.
But neither the latest version of the bill nor the resolution to establish a task force were ever put to a vote by the Democratic leadership in the Senate.
Read more: How this Senate bill would reform parole in Delaware
Bail reform overcomes first hurdle:
Delaware lawmakers have begun passing reforms that would establish specific crimes for which a person can be held without bail. Proponents say the proposal aims to reduce the importance of bail in Delaware’s criminal justice system.
Such efforts have been underway in Delaware for years. The latest attempt to accomplish this requires a constitutional amendment and comes in the form of Senate Bill 11 and Senate Bill 12. Both bills passed this year, but because amendments to the state constitution must be passed by the General Assembly in two consecutive years, lawmakers will have to pass the bills again next year.
Payment for wrongful convictions
Delaware now has a way to compensate those wrongfully imprisoned due to a flawed criminal conviction.
On the last day of the session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 169, which creates a program that would give defendants the opportunity to undergo a trial that would establish their innocence and potentially award them compensation based on the length of their wrongful imprisonment.
Previous coverage: Why Delaware is one of the few states that does not compensate those wrongfully imprisoned
How the police confiscate and retain money
Parliamentarians also approved a reform of the mechanisms by which the police seize and spend alleged financial proceeds from crime.
House Bill 280 would require state law enforcement agencies to follow stricter legal requirements when seizing and forfeiting funds. It would also require that a parallel criminal case be brought against the person. In addition, the person would be entitled to reimbursement of attorney fees and other costs if they are successful in challenging the seizure.
Due to pressure from law enforcement, the bill’s reforms were scaled back, but after passing the Senate in the final days of the session, it was finally forwarded to Governor John Carney.
Fines, fees, a freeze on outstanding child support payments and a second step?
Lawmakers also continued to pass reforms to the use of fines and fees in Delaware’s criminal justice system: Senate Bills 282, 283 and 284. Another related bill, House Bill 291, was voted on.
On the last day of the session, lawmakers also passed a law that would require a judge to first determine whether a person is willfully failing to pay court-ordered child support or is financially unable to pay it before the judge can order the person incarcerated.
A year ago, Delaware lawmakers passed a significantly watered-down reform of restrictive police transparency laws. At the time, leading Democrats who pushed the reforms called the compromise a “first step.”
This year, no lawmaker has introduced further reforms to these police transparency laws.
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