1402 RES CITY COUNCIL IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN PRESERVATION OF ORDERLY SOCIETYR ESOLUTION NO. 1402
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Paris is and has
always been interested in the preservation of an orderly society
governed by reasonable and adequate laws; and,
WHIIZEAS, the City of Pazis is interested in the furtherance
of this philosophy through improvement and change of laws, where
such change has been studied and approved by knowledgeable per-
sons actively engaged in the area of said change; and,
WHEREAS, it has been brought to the attention of the City
Council of the City of Paris that there is proposed before the
62nd Legislative Session of the State of Texas sweeping changes
in the Texas Criminal Law in the form of a proposed Penal Code,
which would establish the following:
1. A minimum penalty of one (1) year in the peni-
tentiary for Murder, Rape and Robbery;
2. The minimum penalty for any felony may be a fine
without penitentiary sentence;
3. The fine for any felony may be as little as $1.00
and shall not exceed $5,000.00;
4. The maximum sentence for most of the serious
crimes would be substantially reduced;
5. That a person may only be punished for one
crime for all offenses committed during a
criminal episode, regardless how many are
committed;
6. That a person found to be an habitual criminal
could be sentenced to as little as one (1)
year nor more than thirty (30) years, vice life,
as provided in the present law; and
7. The section dealing with the crime of statutory
rape, consentual fondling of a child and con-
sentual indecent exposure to a child, which re-
quires the age of the victim to be fifteen (15)
years or under, provides for an affirmative
defense to prosecution for the conduct that the
defendant believed the child -to be sixteen (16)
years of age or older, i.e. mistaken belief as
to age; and,
WHEREAS, our Nation, State and City are and have been for
some time experiencing an every increasing crime rate, which in-
dicates the need for increasing rather than decreasing penalties
for crimes to act as a deterrent to the commission of such
crimes; and,
WHEREAS, the proposed Penal Code has not been available
for examination and study by interested persons and bodies for
more than twenty (20) days and that, therefore, such persons
and bodies have not had sufficient time to prepare objections
or recommendations or to submit the same to their members fox
endorsement; and,
WHEREAS, the State Bar of Texas has not endorsed such
proposed Penal Code; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS,
PARIS, TEXAS, That it go on record as opposing the passage of
the proposed Penal Code by the Legislature of the State of
Texas during its 62nd Session; and,
BE IT FURTHER RFSOLVED that a copy of this resolution be
delivered to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the
House, Honorable A. M. Aikin, Jr. and Honorable Neal Solomon.
Passed and adopted this 8th day of February, 1971.
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B.'"--ieI". Felty, Mayor
ATTFST :
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H. C. Greene, City Clerk
APP O ED O FORM:
T. K. Hayne , ity Attorney