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Landry crime bills signed
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BATON ROUGE — With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Jeff Landry on Tuesday expanded gun rights for most Louisiana residents and approved new ways to execute death row prisoners.
Louisiana's new concealed carry law, (Senate Bill 1) which takes effect on Independence Day, lowers from 21 to 18 the age at which residents may legally carry a concealed weapon, unless possession is banned by other state or federal laws. The state is the 28th to have such a law.
A separate bill (SB 2), allows people carrying a concealed weapon to avoid liability for what happens with their guns, unless they are engaged in gross negligence or intentional misconduct. That also takes effect July 4, 2024.
The execution law (HB 6) gives Louisiana’s public safety commissioner more ways to put condemned prisoners to death. As of now, Louisiana must use lethal injection, but as of July 1, the state can turn to electrocution or nitrogen suffocation. That takes effect July 1, 2024.
Because of difficulties in obtaining drugs used in executions, Louisiana hasn’t put anyone to death since 2010. Other states that have faced similar problems have also recently approved new execution methods; Idaho has approved the use of firing squads and Alabama this year conducted the nation's first suffocation execution using nitrogen.
Alabama prison officials said before the execution, inmate Kenneth Smith would be unconscious within 30 seconds, but witnesses that for more than 2 minutes Smith shook and writhed on a gurney, and at times struggled against his restraints.
Other crime bills that Landry approved will:
- SB 9: Change the statute of limitations for some sex offenses. (in effect March. 5, 2024)
- HB 3: Require mandatory drug testing for certain offenders. (takes effect Aug. 1, 2024)
- HB 10: Lower the amount of time that an inmate’s sentence can be reduced because of good behavior. (takes effect Aug. 1, 2024)
- SB 7: Increase penalties for drunken driving. (takes effect July 1, 2024)
- HB 4: Change post-conviction relief procedures. (takes effect Aug. 1, 2024)
- SB 5: Change pardon and parole rules. (takes effect Aug. 1, 2024)
“One of the first promises we made was that we were gonna deal with crime and we did it in a way where we listened to you all,” Landry said.
Learn more about the bills that were signed on the Louisiana Legislature website.
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