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90th General Assembly · Iowa Funnel one-pager · Monday, November 9, 2026

SF 357: Creating a capital murder offense by establishing the penalty of death for murder in the first degree offenses involving kidnapping and sexual abuse offenses against the same victim who is a minor, providing penalties, and including effective date and applicability provisions

Died when the session ended · The 2024 session adjourned on April 19, 2024, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died.

What it does

This bill amends the Iowa criminal code to provide for punishment by death for capital murder committed by a person age or older if the trial jury, or the judge if there is no jury, makes specific findings and whether the jury believes the defendant should be put to death in a separate penalty proceeding held after the close of the initial trial proceeding. Under the bill, a death penalty sentence could be imposed if the person is convicted of the multiple offenses of murder in the first degree, kidnapping in the first, second, or third degree, and sexual abuse in the first, second, or third degree with respect to the same victim, and the victim is a minor.

Sponsors

Judiciary committee

Cost

See the fiscal note

Senate File 357 is estimated to have a fiscal impact to the DOC, the Office of the State Public Defender, and the Judicial Branch. Some of these costs will only be incurred once. Other costs for each individual facing the death penalty will be incurred over mu…

Senate subcommittee · named January 17, 2024

  • Sen. Julian B. Garrett (R)
  • Sen. Tony Bisignano (D) · tony.bisignano@legis.iowa.gov
  • Sen. Jason Schultz (R) · jason.schultz@legis.iowa.gov

Lobbying · 1 for, 14 against

For: American Green Farms

Against: American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa (ACLU-IA); Common Good Iowa; Episcopal Diocese of Iowa; IA Mental Health Planning Council; Interfaith Alliance of Iowa Action Fund; Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers; Iowa Association for Justice; Iowa Catholic Conference; Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Iowa Mental Health Advocacy; Iowans Against the Death Penalty; League of Women Voters of Iowa; and 2 more

In plain words

  1. February 21, 2023Filed in the Senate
  2. February 21, 2023Approved by the Senate committee
  3. March 16, 2023Cost estimate (fiscal note) posted
  4. June 5, 2023Sent to the Senate Judiciary committee
  5. January 17, 2024Senate subcommittee named: Garrett, Bisignano and Schultz

From public records at legis.iowa.gov, compiled by Iowa Funnel (iowafunnel.com), an independent, nonpartisan site. Current as of Monday, November 9, 2026. https://iowafunnel.com/bills/90/SF357