Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Killen, speaks to Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 22, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved a Pettus-sponsored bill limiting the application of youthful offender status in murder or capital murder cases. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved legislation that would prevent courts from extending youthful offender status to anyone between the age of 16 and 19 charged with murder.
HB 11, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Killeen, reduces the threshold for youthful offender status for those crimes from 19 to 16 for those charged with murder or capital murder…