Alabama Second Chance Bill Could Free Some Older Prisoners
HB229 would allow resentencing for inmates serving life and didn't commit crimes that didn't result in physical injury
Yesterday, the Alabama House Judiciary Standing Committee heard House Bill 229, which was introduced earlier this month. It would allow for resentencing opportunities for older inmates who committed crimes that didn’t result in any physical injury and who are serving a sentence of life without parole under Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act.
Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, and former U.S. Congressman Spencer Bachus attended a press conference on Wednesday morning hosted by Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, which is advocating for the reform.
“HB 229 would simply permit Alabama judges to review these extreme sentences and determine if additional punishment is warranted for individuals in their 50s, 60s, and 70s,” said Alabama Appleseed’s Executive Director Carla Crowder. “Many of these folks are living in faith dorms and have taken every rehabilitative program offered. Continued incarceration is costly and serves no public safety function."
The state’s Habitual Felony Offender Act was modified in 2015 after prison reform legislation created lesser Class D felonies and reclassified some crimes from Class C felonies to Class D, meaning that some crimes no longer carried a mandatory life sentence. But these changes aren’t retroactive, meaning hundreds of inmates who committed the same crimes before 2015 when they were still listed in the more serious category of Class C felonies are stuck behind bars.
Data shows there are approximately 220 people serving life without parole sentences under the Habitual Felony Offender Act for crimes that resulted in no physical injuries.
The Second Chance Bill would provide a mechanism for judges to review sentences for those over 50 serving life without parole under the Habitual Felony Offender Act. It would exempt certain crimes from being used to enhance a sentence, but violent offenses could still be used as enhancements. People convicted of homicide, sex offenses, or crimes that resulted in serious injuries would not be eligible.
Aging prisoners are now a fourth of the population in Alabama’s prisons, and many are incarcerated in facilities the Department of Justice calls dilapidated and unsafe. In the last 50 years, Alabama’s prison population has exploded, but the state has also been keeping people longer and longer. In the last 50 years, the state saw a 3,640% increase in inmates over the age of 50.
Votes from yesterday's hearing has not yet been announced.
You can read more about the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law Center for Law and Justice at their website.
