HB351 Alabama 2013 Session

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

To amend Sections 13A-5-2, 13A-5-39, 13A-5-43, and 13A-6-2, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to capital offenses, to provide that a person convicted of a capital offense committed when under the age of 18 years may, in the alternative, be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 40 years; to provide generally that a person convicted of a non-homicide crime committed when under the age of 18 years is subject to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 40 years, rather than life imprisonment without parole; to provide a burden of proof; to further provide for definitions; and to add Section 13A-5-53.1 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to specify that in capital murder cases, the provisions of the act apply to defendants who have not yet been sentenced for capital murder on or after the effective date of the act; and to provide exceptions.