H 4121 General Bill, By D.C. Waldrop
 A Bill to amend Section 24-3-530, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
 relating to capital punishment by electrocution, so as to provide that the
 person sentenced to the death penalty has the option of choosing to be
 executed by lethal intravenous injection; and to amend Section 24-3-540,
 relating to capital punishment, so as to conform this Section to the above
 provision.

   01/14/92  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-189
   01/14/92  House  Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-189

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 24-3-530, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT BY ELECTROCUTION, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE PERSON SENTENCED TO THE DEATH PENALTY HAS THE OPTION OF CHOOSING TO BE EXECUTED BY LETHAL INTRAVENOUS INJECTION; AND TO AMEND SECTION 24-3-540, RELATING TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, SO AS TO CONFORM THIS SECTION TO THE ABOVE PROVISION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 24-3-530 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 24-3-530. All persons convicted of capital crime and having imposed upon them the sentence of death shall suffer such this penalty by electrocution within the walls of the State Penitentiary at Columbia under the direction of the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections instead of by hanging; provided, that the person convicted has the option of choosing to be executed by lethal intravenous injection. If this option is chosen, the person shall suffer the death penalty by being continuously and intravenously administered a lethal quantity of an ultrashort-acting barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent until death is pronounced. The administration of this barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent must be made within the walls of the institution of the Department of Corrections at Columbia under the direction of the commissioner."

SECTION 2. Section 24-3-540 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 24-3-540. The Board of Corrections shall provide a death chamber and all necessary appliances for inflicting such the penalty by electrocution or by lethal intravenous injection and pay the costs thereof out of any funds in its hands. The expense of transporting any such the criminal to the State Penitentiary shall must be borne by the county in which the offense was committed."

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.