Alabama is considering significant changes to its death penalty laws with the introduction of two new bills. HB70 seeks to allow certain death-row inmates, sentenced under the now-defunct judicial override system, to petition for resentencing . This has been brought to Montgomery since the power of judicial override was taken away in 2017 but inmates sentenced by judicial override remained on death row, not impacted by the change in law.
The resentencing would apply if a jury recommended life without parole, a judge overruled that recommendation, and the death sentence was imposed before the 2017 law change. If eligible, resentencing would be mandatory.
Meanwhile, HB76 proposes a constitutional amendment to abolish the death penalty entirely in Alabama. If passed, no crime in the state could be punished by death, and all execution-authorizing laws would be void. This bill would require a statewide primary election vote in 2028, like all constitutional amendments, needing a majority to pass…