Alabama would require unanimous jury for death sentences under prefiled bill
An Alabama lawmaker has introduced several bills dealing with criminal justice ahead of the upcoming legislative session, including one focused on death sentences.
Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, prefiled several bills on Wednesday, including House Bill 14. The bill calls for a unanimous jury vote during the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial to put someone to death. It also provides an avenue for resentencing in certain circumstances.
Under current Alabama law, a jury can vote 10-2 and still impose a death sentence.
“This bill would provide that a defendant may be resentenced if a judge sentenced him or her to a sentence other than the jury’s advisory sentence and if his or her death sentence was not unanimous,” the document introducing HB14 said.
“This bill would repeal the existing code section relating to resentencing for certain defendants sentenced for capital murder.”
In 2017, Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law that juries, not judges, have the final say on whether to impose the death penalty in capital murder cases. Alabama had been the only state in America that allowed a judge to override a jury’s recommendation when sentencing capital murder cases.
The law marked a win for death penalty opponents, but left Alabama as still the only state to allow a non-unanimous jury impose the death penalty
England was one of the legislators who supported that bill, and at the time, his bill would have also required unanimous consent of all 12 jurors to recommend a death sentence. That didn’t change under the law ultimately passed by the legislature and signed by Ivey.
The new prefiled bill did not specify the “certain circumstances” that would allow for resentencing.