S.B. 92 Prosecution Amendments: transcript

Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Appreciate it. And thank you committee members for allowing me to come and present. Uh, let give you a little bit of background. SB 92 prosecution amendments that we are are, uh, we've been, uh, I guess calling it the Desiree's Law. Lemme give you just a little bit of background of who, uh, Desiree Turner Buck, uh, who she was in 2017, 14-year-old Desiree Turner Buck, and I'm joined by April Turner. Her, her, uh, mother was shot by two classmates who had intentionally plotted her murder and left her in a Smithfield Canal. Despite this horrific attack, Desiree became a symbol of resilience and hope across Utah and the nation. Her recovery included 16 brain surgeries, yet she went on to graduate from high school, marry and serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Her perpetrators were convicted in 2018 of attempted aggravated murder and sentenced to 15 years to life in 2025. Unfortunately, Desiree tragically passed away due to complications stemming from her original injuries. Current Utah law, uh, Utah Code 76 dash one dash 4 0 5 generally prohibits prosecuting someone twice for the same offense, with two current exceptions. When the defendant manipulated the first prosecution to avoid a harsher sentence or when a prior conviction is overturned through habeas corpus or similar legal challenge, the delayed death exception in other states. There's a delayed death exception to double jeopardy, which has been recognized in US law since 1912, the Supreme Court case Diaz versus United States. While some states apply this principle through constitutional doctrine and case law, if you express expressly address it in statute with New York, providing perhaps the clearest example, the def, this bill defines homicide offense to include aggravated murder, murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide, automobile, homicide, child abuse, homicide, and homicide. By assault, the bill adds a third exception to the general prohibition on subsequent prosecution allowing such prosecution when all of the following apply. The earlier prosecution was for an offense that caused seriously body, serious bodily injury to an individual. That individual later died from the injury or as approximate result of it. And the death occurred after the earlier prosecution concluded by conviction or dismissal. Without prejudice, prosecutors may only charge a homicide offense under this exemption, no other charges may be added. Where this bill came about, uh, Mr. Vice-Chair was the Cash County attorney. After, um, Desiree's passing in April, they revisited to try and increase the charges, uh, on these, these two individuals that were convicted and found that it was, it was not possible. What this law is, is, is going to do, it's gonna be a very, very narrow scope, but like I mentioned, in case of, um, serious bodily injury and the aggravated attempted murder, this would allow a prosecutor, um, to relook at, um, further, um, charges, uh, for capital murder. Um, it, it, it will give the court's discretion, uh, to reduce, uh, minimum sentence. I, I've also with me is Carl Holland, who represents the prosecutors. And I, I wanted to mention up upfront that this has been an unbelievable collaborative effort. We've had input from the Attorney General's office, the Cash County Attorney's Office, the sentencing commission, the parole board, the associate prosecutors, and also I really wanna appreciate the defense attorneys. Really came and helped us a lot with this, with this bill, and of course, the Turner family. Uh, what I'd like to do is just to turn a little bit of time over to April, if that's okay, Mr. Vice-Chair. And then also I'd like to turn a little bit of time over to Carl. I know your, your agenda is full and we've got other responsibilities, so we're gonna try and cut it short. But, uh, appreciate this opportunity. Thank you.

Okay. So, like he said, my name is April Turner. I am Desiree's mom, and I just wanted to let you know that I am here because this is what Des would've wanted. Des never thought it was fair that they got a lighter sentence. They planned her murder. They carried out the murder. The only thing is, is that she fought to live and they got the credit for her working hard. It was a triumph. She should have had, not them. They got the lighter sentence. Ultimately, she had 50 procedures, 16 of which were brain surgeries. Eventually she did get complications. She died of bilateral pulmonary septic emboli. And that is what took her life. That, um, I want to make the distinction that, um, I'm read it, um, DE's work to forgive them personally, A spiritual choice about her and her own healing. Pre peace. She never excused them legally. A moral stance about justice and accountability, and this distinction matters. Fairness requires accountability for the consequences of one's actions. When those actions cause a death even years later, justice should reflect that and SB 92 provides a path for that.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, as the committee, my name is Carl Holland. I'm the Executive Director of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors. And I think that this bill really is monumental. Um, it shows, uh, I think great leadership of the good sponsor who brought together all of these groups and expressed to them concern over a problem that is real, that has affected members of our community, as you've heard from Ms. Turner's testimony, and has reminded everybody that a victim suffering doesn't end when sentence is passed down. And while we seek to bring swift justice to people who've hurt others in our community, we have to recognize that those wounds remain open for those who have survived those attacks. Um, I think that the, the great leadership of the, of the good sponsor has shown that he brought all these stakeholders together with a lot of different views and was able to bring this bill into a place, uh, that people were comfortable with it. And so we took some suggestions from, uh, the sentencing commission, the Defense Bar, and the Board of Pardons to make sure that, uh, if there was a subsequent sentence, there was, uh, an ability for a judge to grant credit for other time that they had previously served to avoid disparate treatment of these offenders. Uh, he, I know he worked with, uh, victims, uh, communities who were wanting to make sure that children who were abused and tortured are also considered under this bill. And so this, this bill really does represent an entire community of people who are interested in community justice coming together and putting something forward that will do a lot of good for the people, the state of Utah and the prosecutors. This state, uh, wholeheartedly support this bill. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair.

I, I think that'll conclude our presentation. Again, like I said, no time is, is valuable.

Thank you. I'm just wondering, have cases in other states with this delayed death exception, have they held up on appeal Representative Acton?

Uh, yes, they have. Uh, there have been other cases that have been appealed, and the attorney general's office did some great research to show that this law as drafted would, uh, pass constitutional scrutiny.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I apologize, I stepped out for a second. So you might have already answered my question, but how many other, uh, state jurisdictions have, uh, a delayed death statute like this one? I dunno the answer to that. I think, I guess we don't, we don't know what to act. Okay. Um, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll ask a follow up. Uh, is this statute model offer of, uh, statutes of any other jurisdictions?

It is New York. New York. Okay. Thank you. Yeah,

Thank you. So I'm just looking at the sentencing provisions, uh, five A and BI guess. So I'm, what's confusing me is it says, uh, it says the court may reduce the minimum sentence. So I guess the, and I assume because it's a, because conviction of a more serious crime, they can increase the sentence. So is it just kind of wide open,

Uh, Mr. Chair, if I could answer that question. Uh, the reason that it states that they can reduce the minimum term is if you had a defendant, for instance, who's con, who's convicted previously of attempted aggravated murder that carries a 15 year mandatory minimum sentence. If they're subsequently convicted of aggravated murder, that would carry a 25 min year minimum mandatory sentence. This would give the court the ability to consider whether or not in the interest of justice, the 25 year mandatory minimum sentence should be reduced to account for time that was served under the prior conviction for attempted aggravated murder. It would not give them the authority to increase that 25 year mandatory minimum higher than what it is.

Okay. Thank you. That makes sense.

Uh, follow up from Representative Miller. Uh, yes. Uh, my follow up is, uh, where were the defense lawyers on this? I imagine they didn't love it, but, uh, did you talk with them? Is this a consensus bill?

Absolutely. The defense attorneys have been really amazing. We've met with 'em a number of times and, um, I, I can't speak for them, uh, but, um, they, they've, I've, I've met with them a number of times and, and they've really been great, really to help us to find, and that's where a lot of that language that we just talked about came is, is from the defense attorneys. That's

Good to hear. Thank you, Senator. Yeah, thank you.

I think Desiree would've been friends with everybody, and she would've had a great time here, and she would've just told you herself that it was never fair. The, the way the sentencing was set up, it's never fair that they got a lighter sentence because she didn't die that first night and didn't die within the first year, and therefore, uh, they didn't get the murder sentence, although that was their intention all along. So, yeah.

director of the Sentencing commission staffer, CCJJ Commission. Um, I, I'll echo a lot of what's already been said, and I think the good collaborative process that led to the, uh, this version of the bill was, was well covered. We really do appreciate Senator Wilson's commitment to that collaborative process and think it hopefully led to, um, you know, more refined policy on this really important topic. I'm also honored to have gotten to work on it, knowing now what I now know about the, um, terrible case and Desiree and all of that. So, um, thank you for that opportunity. The, uh, only thing I kinda wanted to clarify for the committee. I don't know how many of you have looked at our CCJA tracker we send around, but if you look at it today, it does say support in concept on there. Um, the thing CCJJ was hoping would be worked out is now worked out in the sub, um, the sentencing commission revisited it and recommended that CCJ change the position to support, and they just have not gotten back around to doing that. But then the main thing there, I think it was also kind of covered, but is just that, it was just how to consider if somebody has served some amount of time in prison already on the initial prosecution, and then the death occurs, and then they're prosecuted again for the, uh, murder charge. It makes sense that there should be a murder sentence that comes out of that. Um, but how to factor the time in that they've already served. That was the issue that we were working out. And in the sub I think it's clear that they're presumptively that they would receive credit for that. And, um, the board and the courts are able to do that with this language. So, thank you.

Committee, I'm Dela England, I'm representing Eagle Forum and United Women's Forum. I just ask you to support this bill. I think it's done so well with both Mercy and Justice as someone that could leave a human being with their knowledge was that she had died and they did nothing and left her there. And I just think this bill is very well done and I ask you to please support it. Thank you.

Thank you. Marise Jones, I'm the director of the Victim Services Commission. We are in support of this bill. Uh, little more personal, although superficial is we had the honor of having Desiree Turner come present, um, with some support and individuals that worked with her in her case, at our crime victims conference that we have every year. We're in our 38th year of providing that conference. And she was absolutely courageous and charming, and you could just feel her personality and her spirit. And she's not alone. There are crimes like this that do occur where the, the death is delayed. Um, and, and I think that this does balance the, the mercy and justice as was just commented in, in such a good way. And so we, we support this bill and hope that you'll see the value in it.

Uh, thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. My name's Richard Morrow. I'm the Executive Director of the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association here on behalf of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Uh, to your question, uh, Representative Miller, we worked, uh, with, um, Senator Wilson. Senator Wilson. Listen to some of the concerns that we had. We acknowledged that this is an appropriate area of law to pass a law like this and to make that, um, happen. Um, it's constitutional. We understood that, uh, Senator Wilson was great to work with. He listened to some of the concerns. The concerns that we had were to make sure that we, you know, we weren't punishing people down the road for things that weren't related to the event that happened. And he took those concerns very seriously. And I think those are appropriate, serious bodily injuries, sort of the, the, the mark that we try to follow in looking at what happened in the prior case. We also wanted to incorporate some areas of credit for time served because we thought that was appropriate. And I think we were all in consensus and agreement on that. So really wanna thank the senator for listening to us. I've met with him once, my colleagues have met with him on several occasions. He took to heart the changes that we recommended that he implement and implemented those. I think it's a fair bill and we would ask you to support it.

Thanks, Senator. And I, uh, Senator Wilson, were you speaking to the second substitute for this first substitute?

No, for the first, yeah. First. Okay.

I, oh, it's already adopted. Yeah. I'd like to make a motion that we favorably recommend, um, sorry, I need to get the bill number here. Um, first sub of Senate Bill 92.

Uh, I would like to speak to it. Um, Mr. Chairman, Mrs. Turner. Um, I am from Cash Valley and, um, I, uh, I want to take this opportunity to, um, to tell you, um, how much strength that Desiree, um, has brought and continues to bring, um, to our community. Um, she was a tremendous fighter, and I think you said it best, um, today when you said her victory should not be the victory of, of, um, those who did such horrendous harm. And, um, I, uh, you know, I was just, I was trying to find a quote that will be meaningful. Um, but I think, I'm just gonna speak from the heart here when I say that. Um, death and loss is painful, but there's certain people who, um, their life and their legacy lives on and Desiree's life and legacy will live on. And my hope is that my colleagues today will, uh, support this bill and that we'll see this bill through the process and that that others will be able to have justice in a way that, um, that, that Desiree didn't have. Um, but I'm, I'm grateful she, you know, she impacted my kids, my family as we watched, um, the stories of triumph over triumph. Um, to be able to go and serve a mission and to get married and to do the things that she did is absolutely remarkable. And, um, we're, I'm just tremendously grateful for that example. I'm, um, tremendously grateful to the sponsor of this bill, um, for the thoughtful work that's gone into it. Um, and would encourage the, the support of, um, of my committee members.

Thank you. I just also wanted to thank April Turner for coming and sharing more of the reasons behind this bill. And I do remember when Desiree came to the house floor and what an inspiration she was. It wasn't all that long after the incident happened. And, um, and I loved what April said, that because she fought to live through 50 surgeries, her perpetrators got a lighter sentence. And that really, um, clarified the issue for me. So I appreciate April for coming. Thanks.

Uh, thank you Mr. Vice Chair. I really appreciate it. And I, this, um, this incident that happened, this is not something that happens in Cache Valley and it hit, it hit everybody there in our community. And it, it was especially tough for me 'cause I had a daughter the same age, and I honestly think that it could happen to anybody. You know, when you're 14 and you're looking at a friend, uh, leads your way. I, I, it's, it's, uh, really sad and I really believe, and of course my daughter is, is still alive and, um, and unfortunately Desiree, but so I'm hoping that we can use, uh, her life is an inspiration and we can honor Desiree with this, what I call the Desiree Lodge. I sure appreciate your support on this, and I wanted it to be collaborative. I wanted to be a consensus bill. I think that's important for, for Desiree and the Turner family. So thank you. Thank

I think the summed up as well as anybody could, so I'll wait.

Oh, thank you very much. Committee members appreciate it.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I appreciate you juggling the, the, uh, the agenda for me and, and I just appreciate the, uh, support and the number of people were that came from, uh, from Cache Valley today. Uh, Mr. Chair? Uh, I do have an amendment. I'm, I'm not quite sure, uh, exactly how you want, if you wanna move that now or later. I didn't know how you'd like to do that. I'll go, uh, well, uh, can I get a member of the committee, Senator Baldry to, to, to, is it Amendment one? Amendment One? Yeah.

Amendment bill, thank Mr. Chair. All we did is on line 44, we just took out the word acquittal. Uh, we had some feedback from the, um, uh, the Attorney General's office and they recommended that we take that word out, which we've, which we've done.

Uh, Mr. Chair, uh, I appreciate, uh, you again moving the agenda. Uh, I'm, uh, it's, it is a pleasure and honor for me to, uh, present SB 92 prosecution amendments, uh, which will also be known as Desiree's Law. A bill that arose from profound grief in the Cache Valley community. In 2017, 14-year-old Desiree Turner, buck Was shot by two classmates who had intentionally plotted her murder and left her in the Smithfield Canal. Despite this horrific attack, Desiree became a symbol of resilience and hope across Utah and the nation. Her recovery included 16 brain surgeries, yet she went on to graduate from high school, marry and serve a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of Lattery Saints. Her perpetrators were convicted in 2018 of attempted aggravated murder and sentenced to 15 years to life. In 2 20 25. Just last year, Desiree tragically passed away due to complications stemming from her original injuries. Utah law generally prohibits a person from being prosecuted twice for the same offense. There are currently two exceptions. When a defendant manipulates the initial prosecution to avoid a more serious sentence, or when a conviction is overturned through habeas corpus or a similar legal challenge, what's SP 92 does? It creates a very narrow third exception to allow subsequent prosecution only when all of the following are true. The original offense caused bodily injury to a victim. The victim later died from that injury, or as an approximate result of it. The death occurred after the earlier prosecution ended in conviction or dismissal, ensures the justice system can pursue charges that reflect the full harm. When a victim ultimately dies from injury sustained in an earlier attack, it provides prosecutors with a clear limited path to see appropriate accountability in rare but deeply consequential cases.

Uh, Mr. Chair, with your permission, I'd like to turn some time over to 200 individuals who are here with me. Uh, we've got ca from the Cash County Attorney's Office, Dane Murray. And also, if you'll please welcome April Turner of Desiree's mother. Thank you for being here. And if it's okay, appropriately, if I have them do statements.

On the afternoon of February 16th, 2017, Desiree Turner didn't return home from school. Her mom, April, who Sitted seated beside me, reported her missing around six 30 in the afternoon, law enforcement, again looking for her. And within a short amount of time, identified two people who might know where she's at. And that was Jason Decking Coulter Peterson. They initially both denied knowing anything about Des or where she might be. Um, around 1244 in the morning on the 17th, Des was found by two heroes, Sue and Christie, who were Turner's family friends. They found her in an, uh, irrigation canal. Um, and it wasn't immediately apparent what was wrong with her. Um, but once she got to the hospital, they found a bullet wound to the back of her head. Law enforcement quickly learned that Jason Decker and Coulter Peterson had lied to them. They were interviewed and eventually admitted to Luring Des to the now. With the purpose of murdering her, they admitted they'd armed themselves with knives and a gun and intended to stab her to death, but ended up shooting her. During the investigation, it was found that one of the boys, Jason, delayed des from trying to leave by claiming he'd lost a ring and asking for her help to find it. He then text Colter Peterson and said, let's get this done, bro. And then nodded, giving him a predetermined signal to murder. Des Coter Pearson shot des in the back of the head. They then ripped her backpack from her body, stole her money, her cell phone, and an iPod, and then left her laying in a canal, believing she was dead. Des would lay there for eight hours before being found in temperatures below freezing, while she was laying in the ditch clinging to life. They took her money, they bought snacks, and they played video games. When Jason Decker was interviewed, he continued to lie about his involvement, but eventually it was learned that he had kept the shell casing from the incident, displayed it as a trophy in his bedroom. They were both sentenced to 15 years to life in the Utah State Prison. Their presumptive sentences under the Utah Criminal Homicide Matrix are 192 months or 16 years. This past year, on April 17th, Des passed away. You'll hear more about what she went through during her life since 2017 from her mother April. But the next day, the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner performed an autopsy and determined Desiree's. Immediate cause of death was complications of a remote gunshot wound to the head, and her manner of death was homicide. And I'd just like to point out that an attempted murder or an attempted aggravated murder case, the defendant's mental state and their acts are exactly the same as someone who would've succeeded in committing a murder. The reality is, is most avoid a murder charge because of luck or the grace of God, or like Dez, her sheer will to survive. There's an argument that there really shouldn't be a difference in the punishment because the act and the mental state are exactly the same as prosecutors. We can't wait years to see what's going to happen to a victim. We have to go forward. We have to make sure that those who commit these type of acts are held accountable and they're removed from the community. But there should be an avenue to hold offenders fully accountable when their conduct results in a murder. And that's what this bill does. It allows us to hold murders accountable for the full extent of their conduct. In Dez DE's victim impact statement from the sentencings in 2018, she said, quote, you shot me in cold blood and left me to die. Your intention was to kill me. And when you walked away, you thought I was dead. The reason I'm alive is because of my determination and my will to live. I have two heroes named Sue and Christie who found me. I fought for more than eight hours to stay alive on a freezing cold February night. Does this statement perfectly frames this issue? The conduct of someone who intends to kill someone but initially fails is no less heinous than a murder who initially succeeds. And in many cases such as deses, her, her surviving led to pain and suffering for years. And the delayed death is the result of that conduct. A murder's delayed success in committing the murder should not shield them from consequences. The state should have the opportunity to hold a murderer accountable to seek justice for the victim and to protect the public. I'd ask this, this committee favor, favorably recommend this bill to empower prosecutors to hold accountable to murderers, to the fullest extent of the law, to give families and, uh, victims access to justice for their murdered loved ones and to protect the community. Thank you.

Um, I'll just start with my daughter, Dez. She loved people. She was kind and a friend to everyone. The people who shot her were not strangers. They were her supposed friend and his friend. They planned her murder methodically. The only thing they didn't plan for was this Des refused to die. Let me say that clearly does. Fought to live. She survived, but survival came at an unimaginable cost. There are things worse than death. Survival did not spare my daughter. It prolonged her suffering. Her body was permanently damaged. She lived with hemiplegia, hydrocephalus, multiple seizure, seizure disorders, complex vision loss, chronic severe headaches and more. Her first hospital stay was nine weeks. Over time, her hospitalizations totaled more than a year. She endured over 50 medical procedures. 16 of them were brain or head surgeries. Her medical appointments and therapies numbered in the thousands. What does that mean to you? Maybe not much, but to her it meant she had to learn how to live again with half of her body, paralyzed or weak. It meant relying on a brain shunt to stay alive, one that repeatedly failed and became infected. It meant pain so severe, I can't even describe it to you. And when that shunt malfunction, she had to be, had to fight to be believed, she had to prove she was dying. In one instance, doctors did not act until the shunt tubing literally abscessed out of her body. She had to prove her stomach no longer functioned in order to receive life sustaining IV fluids. Des lived in physical pain every single day. On top of that, was the mental anguish being shot by someone she trusted being shot by someone. I'm sorry. Yeah. She thought she trusted losing her abilities, losing the things she loved to do. Yet, Dez was a beautiful soul. She chose to live as fully as she was able. She got a service dog for help and companionship. She turned her old riding arena into a flower garden. And for five summers, she grew flowers that she gave away to thousands of people she worked to forgive. She met each day with strength that most people will never, ever have to summon. She endured, she persevered. And to the very end, even on her dying day, Des still believed the injustice was absurd. The people who tried to kill her received a lighter sentence because she survived. They received credit for her effort. Survival should never be a loophole. Our systems are not fair. Or just in cases like hers to the courts and even to life insurance. Des did not die fast enough. Her health continued to deteriorate. And on April 17th, 2025, at just 22 years old, Desiree passed away. Although her death was directly linked to the gunshot wound, the sentence for her assailants remained unchanged. Des received the real sentence, limited freedoms, years of relentless pain, dozens of surgeries, and agonizing slow death, and the financial burden of all of it. So I ask you, where is the justice in that? We are asking you to correct this unjust. In cases of delayed death, justice in logic demand that the full punishment be applied for the crime committed. When an attempted murder results in permanent catastrophic injury, the sentence should be equal to or greater than that for murder, not less than the sentence should reflect not only the intent to kill, but the years of pain, suffering, surgeries, medical costs, and therapies imposed on the victim. The system treated my daughter's survival as a technicality, not a triumph. SB 92 recognizes that delayed death is still death, and that justice should reflect that. If this bill is not perfect, then improve it. If it has flaws, then fix them. If it must be rewritten, then rewrite it. But please do not leave this injustice unaddressed. I ask you to ensure that the law provides justice in cases of delayed death.

Mr. Chair. I appreciate, uh, Dane and April, and also all Desiree's family and friend that have joined us. I also want to, uh, uh, shout out to Sarah Owens, who's the Victim Services supervisor with the Cash County Attorney's Office for her work and also our Cash County attorney, Taylor Sorenson, who also was very, a big part of, of, of this. And so I do wanna also mention, uh, Mr. Chair that, uh, we are trying to make this a perfect bail. We are working with, uh, the sentencing commission, and they, they've got a, a couple possible tweaks. We need to talk about some things. We just wanna make you aware of that. Um, so, uh, but other than that, uh, Mr. Chair, I just ask for your support. And, um, again, I appreciate, uh, the efforts of the Turner family and Friends to be here. Thank you very much. Does that conclude your presentation? That does Mr. Chair. All right.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, for the record, my name's Mark Moffitt. I'm a criminal defense lawyer. I'm here on behalf of the Utah Defense Lawyers Association. Um, these stories are heartbreaking and we, we don't condone at all the conduct that that resulted, uh, in the death of, uh, in this case. Um, but we are grateful that Senator Wilson removed the acquitted language from, uh, the original draft of this bill. I think that helps, and we would look forward to working with him further on some of the tweaks that he had mentioned. The bill is incredibly broad in its scope because it, it, it allows for a homicide charge or ho a homicide related charge to be charged against anybody who might cause any bodily injury to an individual. And then that individual later, perhaps years later, uh, perishes because, uh, as approximate result of those injuries, and this could be after an individual is charged, has gone to trial, has been sentenced, and has served their sentence, and then they could later be charged again, uh, with a crime. And, and under this particular provision, um, the, the sentencings wouldn't merge. Um, he wouldn't get credit, he wouldn't, uh, the, the individual wouldn't get credit for the time that he served. And, and they could be separate, sentenced separately on both offenses. We wanna talk to the senator more about this. We think there's a lot of room for compromise in this bill, uh, and we would look forward to having that discussion with him. So thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, Richard Mur, I'm the Executive Director of the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association. We probably defend more cases than any other organization in the state, in the criminal courts. Um, and I think this room, I've met with my appellate division and gone over this. This is certainly constitutional, it's certainly a policy decision that this body gets to make. Uh, we do have some suggestions for improvements. However, um, right now, as Mr. Moffitt indicated, a bodily injury alone can suffice. And we would suggest that it be serious bodily injury too. And that that would certainly apply to the facts of this case, that somebody that commits serious bodily injury that results in serious bodily injury. And then you can see the chain of events that occurred in this case that resulted in death. That's a proper policy decision for the Senate to, and the house to make, and the governor to sign to make law to, to make that a homicide. But bodily injury alone is a little too broad. It can con constitute pretty de minimis conduct. Of course, as we all know, serious bodily injury is much more serious. That's a suggestion that we have. Um, and we also wanna make it clear on line 42 that we should be looking at proximate cause. Um, because line line 42 indicates the individual died from the bodily injury, or is approximate result of the bodily injury. And I, I think you could say, and that would be a better improvement. And the only other thing that I would ask for consideration is maybe thinking about some kind of time limit in terms of how long time goes between the time of the event and then the time of the death. And I haven't really thought about that. I mean, something like 10 years is like, I mean, there's some rules of evidence that have 10 years and something like that, but I'm not, I'm not opposed to the bill. I think there, there's some improvements that we Can make. Mr. Alright. Thank

All right. Thank you. Uh, Seth Stewart, uh, representing myself, uh, with full respect and condolences for the deceased and their family. We should acknowledge a difficult truth before us. The government is not capable of correcting every injustice, and certainly not without risking greater injustices. Our system of justice is built on restraint, finality, and limits on state power, not on outcome correction after the fact, when a case has been fully tried and resolved, reopening it years later, be because circumstances have changed, does not deliver justice. It institutionalizes revenge and violates double jeopardy prohibitions. It turns verdicts into provisional placeholders and exposes citizens to indefinite punishment based on events outside their control. The Constitution deliberately accepts imperfect out outcomes to prevent unlimited government power. Not every tragedy can be remedied by legislation, but by restoring the power of the juries to assess and weigh sentencing, the individual circumstances can be weighed and justice can be done. I urge you to oppose this bill. Thank you.

I would, uh, echoing your same thoughts. I, I agree with that. I think, uh, I think they'll find that Senator Wilson is great to work with and, and very reasonable as he moves forward. Uh, and with that in mind, I would recommend favorably SB 92 prosecution amendments as amended.

Yeah, I'll just make a brief comment. I have some questions still. Um, and I think I can take these offline. Um, I, I like the concept a lot. I did have some question, some constitutional questions also, which it sounds like has been resolved. Um, I wish I'm curious about. So I'll draft, I'm curious about, so I'll chat with the drafting attorney about that. Um, I hope that the remaining issues can be worked out. I, I think this is a good concept, but also hope this isn't something that we rush, so I'll be supporting today.

Yes, I would. Uh, Mr. Chair, thank you very much. And yeah, I, I appreciate the comments and, um, we've looked at this a number of different ways. We were, uh, one time we were looking at, uh, uh, you know, probation, uh, looking at it that way. So this, this came back when the Attorney General's office came to me and said that this is constitutional, they'd looked at it. So, uh, we went back to the original plan. Happy to meet with the defense attorneys. Those, you know, I, I did have a meeting with them that they, that they canceled. But happy to work with them. I've worked with them in the past and also the sentencing commission, um, working with Daniel Strong, um, what we've been in fact, uh, talk, talking today. And I'm very, very confident we'll be able to come up with some language that should be, uh, uh, you know, agreeable to everybody.

Um, yes. This substitute, uh, adds a 10 year time limit for bringing the latter homicide charge subject to exceptions. For certain serious prior convictions, it clarifies that the prior case must have resulted in a conviction or a dismissal without prejudice. It requires the higher threshold of serious bodily injury. To trigger the new exception, it replacing the previous standard of bodily injury. It allows the court to reduce a minimum prison term. A defendant must serve before parole and allows the board of pardons and parole to credit time served for the earlier conviction against the later homicide sentence. That's what the, this sub does.

Thank you Mr. Mr. President. Um, lemme give you a little bit just quickly background. I, I know we're trying to move quickly. In 2017, 14-year-old Desiree Turner Buck was shot by two classmates who had intentionally plotted her murder and left her in a Smithfield Canal. Despite this horrific attack, Desiree became a symbol of resil resilience and hope across Utah and the nation. Her recovery included 16 brain surgeries, yet she went on to graduate from high school, marry and serve a mission for the church of Jesus Christ. Latter Saints, her perpetrators were convicted in 2018 of attempted aggravated murder in sentenced to 15 years to life. In 2025, April, Desiree tragically passed away due to complications stemming from her original injuries. As the, uh, cash County Attorney's offers approached me in Mayor June, they realized that the state code did not allow them to go back and prosecute for, for, uh, for murder charges. So what this bill will do is we will change that. It will, it proposes that we amend the Utah's prohibition on subsequent prosecution for the same offense or the double jeopardy protection. This bill adds a new exception, allowing prosecutors to bring homicide charges when a victim dies after an earlier prosecution of criminal conduct that caused the victim's serious bodily injury. If you can, Mr. President, I've, I've, uh, labeled this Desiree's Law, um, she's, she was amazing, uh, what she was able to overcome. This particular law will not Helper, but it's obviously a very narrow scope, and we just wanna make sure that this doesn't ever happen again in the state of Utah. So, be happy to answer any questions. Mr. President,

I, I appreciate that, Mr. President. Yeah. Like I said, uh, Desiree was an amazing individual and her family's been amazing. Uh, wor working on this bill, I just need to, uh, uh, thank, uh, the Turner family, the Cash County Attorney's Office. We've had the sentencing commission, we've had the defense attorneys, the prosecutors have been together, and also our Attorney General's office. And I appreciate all of them that we've been able to, uh, uh, find common ground and language, uh, that again, as I've been calling it, the, the Desiree's Law. So, with that, a motion, Mr. President, that first substitute Senate Bill 92. Be read a third time.

In 2017, 14 year, 14-year-old Desiree Turner, buck was shot by two classmates who had intentionally plotted her murder and left her in a Smithfield canal. Despite this horrific attack, Desiree became a symbol of resilience and hope across Utah and the nation. Her recovery included 16 brain surgeries, yet she went on to graduate from high school, Mary and serve a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her perpetrators were convicted in 2018 of attempted aggravated murder and sentenced to 15 years to life. In 2025, Desiree tragically passed away due to complications stemming from her original injuries. Mr. President Prote, uh, the first substitute Senate Bill 92 will add a third, allowing subsequent prosecution if a death had occurred after the early prosecution concluded by conviction or dismissal without prejudice and if that first, uh, incident was 'cause of, of, um, serious bodily injury. Uh, so Mr. President Pro temp, I just want to thank all the different, uh, entities, uh, institutions and people that have helped with this bill with very much a collaborative effort. I want to thank the Attorney General's office, the Cash County Attorney's Office, sentencing commission, the parole board, the prosecutors, the defense attorneys, and of course the Turner family. I feel we definitely have a consensus bill and we all, uh, I'm to honor Desiree. I'm calling this the Desiree Law and with that they'll conclude my presentation. Mr. President Proto,

I appreciate that. Well, I, um, Desiree was become, like I said, an inspiration and uh, someone was very close to me as I had a daughter the same age when this happened and it made us all, uh, uh, you know, things like this don't usually happen in cash value the state in, in Utah. So I really appreciate her, her will to fight and um, continue to fight. She was definitely an inspiration with that. Mr. President Pro temp a motion that, uh, first substitute Senate Bill 92 pass

Spry Aye. Lewin Aye. Bramer Fu Aye. Colmore Aye. Escamilla Fillmore Grover Harper Aye. Kins Aye. Ipson Aye. Johnson Aye. K Juab McKay Mikel Milner Musselman Owens Pitcher Plum Rebe Sandal Stevenson Stratton, Yes. Bill Warren Island Bickers Weiler Aye. Wilson Aye. Winterton Aye.

Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro tem. It's Somewhats somber to present this bill on the hills of that personal privilege. Um, because herein we are talking similarly about awful things that happened. Communities in 2017, uh, there was a, a pretty gruesome crime that shook Cash Valley, where I represent with several other colleagues here on the floor. And a high school girl who had done nothing except being been a young girl, was lured into a canal by several of her classmates and subsequently shot. Um, those injuries did not take her life, unfortunately, immediately. It's, maybe that's the wrong way to say that Mr. Speaker pro tem. It did not, it did not take her life, but unfortunately it did ruin her life. And ultimately she succumbed to those injuries. She lived for eight years post that horrible crime. Two of her classmates were convicted of attempted murder, and they, where they still sit in jail paying for those crimes, she was left paralyzed through a large portion of her body. And just in 2025, she ultimately passed. The unfortunate thing in the statute of the time is despite the fact that the injuries that she received in 2017 ultimately are the injuries that took her life, there was no option under the law. And until this bill passes, there is no option under the law to charge those who committed that crime with murder, even though murder is what they ultimately committed. This bill sets up that framework. Now, we recognize here on the floor the significance of constitutional protections. And we have drafted this law in accordance with them to avoid any impropriety, propriety, or pushing on sort of the double jeopardy type exclusions of the Constitution. Instead, here we create a framework that says, within 10 years of something occurring that ultimately causes in the passing of a victim, if that person dies as a result of those injuries earliest earlier sustained, a prosecutor has the option with several nuances to, to again, try those who committed that crime for murder. We do this in, to some degree in memory of Desiree Turner, and we still remember her in Cash Valley and see her family and, and hold them in high regard. They've been here, uh, Mr. Speaker pro tem, for many of the critical avenues where this bill has been heard. They're not here today. Um, but we do this mostly in hopes that no other family will be denied the justice that Ms. Turner's family was deny that no other husband, which she ultimately has now, or, and, and or child or mother or father or sibling, will have to live in a world where their relative ultimately was murdered and not be able to seek that same level of justice. So with that, Mr. Speaker ProAm, I yield to any questions?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker ProAm. I rise in support of this bill. I knew this wonderful young woman. We did an event on the steps of the Capitol where we released, uh, doves, uh, outta cages, uh, off the steps. Um, she was a, a bright light and we were friends for, uh, the remaining years of her life. When I learned of her passing, I contacted my friend in the Cash County prosecutor's office and asked this very question if homicide charges would be pursued. She told me that was not an option. Every day we stand here and look at the flag and at the end we say injustice for all. Sometimes we not like that if that's geared towards us, but we all believe injustice. I believe this bill will effectively, uh, seek to put appropriate penalties in, in place, and that somebody won't get off the hook just because of the passage of time when a human life is lost. Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro Tem.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. I also wanted to rise in, um, support for this bill. Uh, I, we learned that because this individual fought for her life and survived this horrific ordeal and 50 subsequent surgeries, because of her determination to live, her perpetrators will receive or have received a lighter sentence than they should have received since she did ultimately succumb to their injuries. And so this is a great bill and I understand that it is done in multiple other states already that, so it's nothing unusual and it does not place them in double jeopardy anyone who would be charged. So I do support this bill. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our rise in support as well. This is similar to the bill that we passed, uh, unanimously out of this body of house Bill 1 38, which is the child's homicide amendment due to suicide and we can go and charge as well. So I just really think this is vital importance. Thank you.