HB385 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Laura HallRepresentative

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Capital offenses, defendants, procedure established for determining whether defendant is an individual with an intellectual disability under certain conditions

Summary

HB385 creates a process to determine if a capital murder defendant has an intellectual disability, which would bar the death penalty and require life imprisonment if found.

What This Bill Does

It defines intellectual disability and what counts as significant limitations in adaptive functioning, including an IQ of 70 or below. It requires a pretrial hearing where the defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that they have an intellectual disability; if found, the case is non-capital and the death penalty cannot be sought. If the pretrial determination does not find an intellectual disability, a jury at sentencing will decide, via a special issue, whether the defendant has an intellectual disability, and a finding of disability leads to life imprisonment, while a finding of no disability allows ID evidence to be considered in deciding aggravating or mitigating factors. The act also sets procedures for giving jury instructions, relief motions for those already sentenced to death, and clarifies the act’s effective date.

Who It Affects

• Defendants charged with capital offenses in Alabama who may be found to have an intellectual disability and thus avoid the death penalty in favor of life imprisonment.
• The Alabama court system (judges and juries) and prosecutors in capital cases, who must apply the new pretrial and sentencing procedures, issue the appropriate instructions, and handle relief motions for past death sentences.

Key Provisions

• Defines intellectual disability as significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning with significant limitations in adaptive functioning, manifested before age 18.
• Significant limitations in adaptive functioning include: self-care, language, learning, self-direction, independent living capacity, and economic self-sufficiency.
• Pretrial determination: upon motion, a hearing must be held no later than 90 days before trial; the defendant bears the burden of proving intellectual disability by a preponderance of the evidence; if found, the case is non-capital and the death penalty cannot be sought.
• If not found ID pretrial, a special jury issue is used at sentencing to determine whether the defendant is an intellectual disability; the defendant bears the burden to prove ID by a preponderance of the evidence; if the jury finds ID, the defendant is sentenced to life imprisonment; if not, ID evidence can be considered in aggravating/mitigating factors.
• The act requires appropriate jury instructions in cases where ID evidence must be considered.
• For defendants already convicted and sentenced to death, there are relief procedures with specific deadlines depending on when the conviction or death sentence occurred.
• The act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after it is passed and approved.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Criminal Law and Procedure