Under existing law, a person convicted of capital murder is sentenced to either the term of life without the possibility of parole or death. A person also must be sentenced to a minimum term of life without the possibility of parole for certain non-homicide offenses.
This bill would provide that a person under the age of 18 years at the time of the offense convicted of a capital offense or certain non-capital offenses punishable by a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, may, in the alternative, be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 40 years, in order to comply with recent United States Supreme Court decisions in Miller v. Alabama and Graham v.
Florida.
This bill also would provide that the juvenile defendant subject to this alternative sentence is eligible to apply for parole consideration only once, 40 years after the date the defendant began serving the sentence. If parole is denied at that time, the defendant will not be eligible for parole again, and the defendant is not eligible for any incentive time deductions under current law. The bill would provide that in capital murder cases, the procedures of this act would apply to defendants who have not yet been sentenced for capital murder on or after the effective date of the act, with certain exceptions.
Judiciary first Amendment Offered
Pending third reading on day 18 Favorable from Judiciary with 1 amendment
Read for the second time and placed on the calendar 1 amendment
Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Judiciary
Engrossed
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass adopted Roll Call 256
Ward motion to Adopt adopted Roll Call 255
Rules Committee Petition to Cease Debate adopted Roll Call 254
Rules Committee Petition to Cease Debate lost Roll Call 253
Judiciary Amendment Offered
Third Reading Passed
Read for the second time and placed on the calendar 1 amendment
Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Judiciary
Source: Alabama Legislature