SB 2821 Mississippi Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Capital sexual battery; create crime of.

SB 2821 creates a new crime called "capital sexual battery" for sexual battery committed against children under 12 years old. It authorizes the death penalty as a sentencing option but requires a jury to unanimously find at least two aggravating factors before recommending it. The bill mandates a separate sentencing hearing after conviction, where the jury must determine if aggravating factors outweigh mitigating circumstances. If the death penalty is not imposed, life imprisonment without parole is automatically required. This applies specifically to defendants convicted of sexual battery against minors under 12.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Feb 16, 2026 Signed Apr 8, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed the upper Current version · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was finalized and sent to the Governor with minor formatting adjustments. The most significant substantive change is the addition of a specific definition for 'sexual organs' to clarify that the capital felony charge applies only when those organs are injured, rather than just any body part. Other changes are technical, such as fixing spacing errors and rewording a sentence about parole eligibility for violent crimes to improve clarity.
Scope change
The scope of the capital felony charge was slightly narrowed by adding a requirement that the victim's 'sexual organs' be injured, whereas the previous version broadly referred to 'organs'.
DEFINITION

Added a new definition clarifying that 'sexual organs' refers to organs involved in sexual penetration, specifically for the capital sexual battery charge.

REQUIREMENT

Modified the text regarding parole hearings for violent crimes to explicitly state that offenders must have a hearing before the Parole Board prior to release.

TECHNICAL

Corrected spacing and punctuation errors throughout the document, such as inconsistent spacing before subsection letters and line breaks within sentences.

Changed the bill status header from 'As Passed the Senate' to 'As Sent to Governor', indicating the legislative process is complete.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 11, 2026 · House Mar 10, 2026

How they voted

4111
Passed
Total votes 52
Feb 11, 2026
D Democratic18
8 Yea 10 Nay
55% Nay
R Republican34
33 Yea 1 Nay
97% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
19
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Amendments
2
Apr 8, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor
executive
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
Conference Report Adopted
lower
Mar 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Conference Report Filed
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed As Amended
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass As Amended
lower
Feb 16, 2026
Committee
Referred To Judiciary B
lower
Feb 16, 2026
Introduced
Transmitted To House
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed As Amended
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass
upper
Jan 19, 2026
Committee
Referred To Judiciary, Division B
upper
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors