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Notoriety Bill, sponsored by Representative Cam Ward and Senator Zeb Little. This bill also has two primary goals: to provide better opportunitiesand enforcement of restitution for victims of crime, and to preventcriminals, particularly those on death row, from profiting from thenotoriety of their crimes. If felons created artwork or any thing ofvalue and attempted to sell it, the profits would be seized tocompensate their victims. The bill would establish mandatory minimumcompensation for capital murder at $50 thousand, and for a second ormore rape conviction at $10 thousand. The Attorney General could ask acourt to seize the offender’s assets to satisfy the restitution order,and prison officials could seize any outgoing mail to search foranything of value that could be used to satisfy restitution to victims.
DUI Revisions, sponsored by Representatives Marc Keahey and Spencer Collier and Senator Rusty Glover. This toughens penalties for DUIoffenders, especially the very worst, and closes a loophole that keptcourts from considering DUI convictions that were older than five yearswhen they were sentencing repeat offenders. Penalties would beincreased for all offenders, and those who repeatedly drive whiledrunk--with four or more convictions--would be sentenced to serve atleast six months in jail. Penalties would also be enhanced for the“extremely intoxicated” driver, whose blood alcohol content is morethan double the legal limit.
Nolo Contendere Bill, sponsored by Representative Jamie Ison. This bill helps keep criminals from hiding their out-of-state criminal recordsfrom Alabama Courts. Alabama law currently does not recognize “nolocontendere” or no contest pleas made in other states, where thedefendant does not actually plead guilty to the crime but accepts aconviction by not contesting the charge. For example, during the 2005trial of Jeremy Jones for a brutal rape and murder, prosecutors werebarred from informing the jury of his evil past, which included threeseparate nolo contendere pleas to sexual assault. Attorney General Kinghas named this The Lisa Marie Nichols Justice for Victims Act, in honorof the victim that his office convicted Jones for killing. The proposedlaw treats allows the State to use the nolo contendere plea to impeachthe testimony of a witness, to count as an aggravating circumstance insentencing for a capital murder, and for enhanced penalties under theHabitual Offender Act.
Families to be Present at Executions, sponsored by Representative Billy Beasley. Under current law, only two immediate family members of thevictim may be present at an execution. This bill would increase thatnumber to eight immediate family members. It would also allow for thepresence of the prosecuting district attorney or his or her representative, and one officer from the arresting branch of lawenforcement.
Concurrent/Consecutive Sentencing and Parole Eligibility Reform,sponsored by Representative Cam Ward and Senator Ted Little. This law would give real meaning to each consecutive sentence, in determiningwhen an inmate becomes eligible for parole consideration. Currently,the law treats consecutive and concurrent sentences the same if thesentence is more than 30 years. Under Attorney General King’s proposal,each sentence would be measured separately and for each sentence, theinmate could not be considered for parole until he or she had servedone-third of the sentence or ten years, whichever is shortest.
Photo Voter ID, sponsored by Representative Greg Canfield and Senator Larry Dixon. Voter fraud continues to be a serious problem throughoutAlabama, and this bill is designed to stop the fraud and corruptionthat plague Alabama elections. Any person voting in person or byabsentee ballot would have to submit valid photo identification. Thephoto ID would have to be a driver’s license or state ID card from theDepartment of Public Safety, passports, or other photo ID cards issuedby the federal or state governments.
Felon Voting Bill, sponsored by Representative Randy Wood. This legislation would resolve any confusion over which convicted felons areineligible to vote because their crimes may have involved moralturpitude. Attorney General King proposes the simple remedy that allconvicted felons lose their civil and political rights—including theright to vote—and sets aside any question of whether the particularfelonies involved moral turpitude. Convicted felons would not be ableto vote unless and until they successfully applied to have their rightsrestored by the Board of Pardons and Paroles. This is a proposedamendment to the Constitution of Alabama, and would have to be ratifiedby the voters of Alabama.
Reporting of Gunshot Wounds to Law Enforcement, sponsored byRepresentative Billy Beasley. Under existing law, except under limitedcircumstances, health care providers in Alabama may not initiatereports to law enforcement about gunshot wounds and stabbings withoutwritten consent of the patient. This bill would mandate reporting byhealth care providers, and would supersede any privilege under statelaw such as doctor/patient privilege.
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