HB113 Alabama 2014 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Lynn Greer

Republican

Co-Sponsor

Paul DeMarco

Session

Regular Session 2014

Title

Criminal procedure, new classes of capital offense, reduce appeal time, Sec. 13A-5-40 am'd.

Summary

HB113 expands enumerated capital offenses and revamps death-penalty post-conviction and appeal rules, including timing, concurrent appeals, and earlier counsel appointments.

What This Bill Does

The bill would limit Rule 32.2(c) to non-death penalty cases and set specific timelines for post-conviction petitions in death-penalty cases, while requiring direct appeals and post-conviction remedies to be pursued concurrently. It would require trial judges to appoint appellate counsel for both direct appeals and post-conviction work within a defined 30-day period if the defendant is indigent, and it would impose strict deadlines (typically 180 days or 1 year, with six-month out-of-time options) for filing post-conviction petitions after a death sentence. It would broaden the list of enumerated capital offenses (including murders of prosecutors, police and other law enforcement, judges, jurors, and certain killings tied to schools, daycares, protected persons, narcotics activity, and gangs) and designate prosecutors as part of law enforcement; it would also note local-funding implications but exempt the bill from certain local expenditure voting rules because it defines or amends crimes.

Who It Affects

• Death-penalty defendants and their defense counsel, who would face new filing deadlines, required concurrent appeals, and earlier appointment of appellate counsel.
• Prosecutors and other law enforcement personnel (and their families) who would be added to the list of enumerated capital offenses and treated as targets or related victims under the statute.

Key Provisions

• Rule 32.2(c) would apply only to non-death penalty cases.
• Post-conviction petition deadlines for death-penalty cases: within 180 days after the initial direct-appeal brief if appealing to the Court of Criminal Appeals; within 1 year of the death sentence order for cases not appealed; six months for out-of-time appeals with discovery-based exceptions.
• Direct appellate and post-conviction remedies under Rule 32 would be pursued concurrently; trial courts must appoint appellate counsel for direct appeal and post-conviction relief within 30 days of the death-sentence order for indigent defendants.
• Petitions for post-conviction relief may not be entertained after 180 days following the final direct-appeal order; pending petitions must be heard within 180 days of the final order, and properly filed petitions pending at the time of the final order must be heard within 180 days.
• The bill amends 13A-5-40 to add numerous enumerated capital offenses, including murder of prosecutors, on-duty law enforcement officers, certain family members of law enforcement, murders on school campuses and in day cares, murders to avenge or retaliate against officials or jurors, murders under protection-from-abuse orders, murders during illegal narcotics transactions, murders of judges for official actions, and gang-related murders.
• Prosecutors are explicitly included as members of law enforcement for purposes of the statute.
• The bill notes local-funding implications under Amendment 621 but is exempt from requiring a local-entity vote because it defines or amends crimes.

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

Subjects

Crimes and Offenses