MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama District Attorneys Association is asking state lawmakers to support a newly proposed legislative crime package, a package that targets fentanyl possession, firearm possession for those out on bail and retail theft.
“District attorneys are serious about fighting crime, and we’re asking our legislative friends to give us the tools to protect our Alabama citizens,” Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey said recently in the State House. “We want these bills passed as soon as possible before another life is taken by a violent criminal, or another business is closed due to theft, or someone else dies due to fentanyl overdose.”
The package contains four components:
- Firearm crime penalty enhancements
- Removal of the Class D felony
- Increased penalties for retail theft
- Increased penalties for fentanyl possession
Firearm crime penalty enhancements
The first component, which Bailey called “the centerpiece of our crime package,” would not only restrict firearm possession for certain individuals, but establish a list of criminal offenses deemed to be “felonies dangerous to human life.”
Sponsored by Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Matthews, House Bill 301 outlines a number of crimes for which criminal penalties would be increased if done so in the possession of a firearm, including murder, assault, burglary, domestic violence, arson, escaping custody and more.
Under the bill, those who commit any of the listed crimes while in the possession of a firearm would be sentenced to a minimum ten-year sentence. Those who discharge a firearm during the commission of any of the listed crimes would receive a sentence of no less than 15 years.
Additionally, those who commit “felonies dangerous to human life” as listed in the bill would be prohibited from possessing a firearm while released on bond.
“If you have been convicted of a violent crime such as murder, rape or robbery, and are then subsequently caught in possession of a firearm and convicted of that, you will have a sentencing enhancement on your sentence, and that will be day-for-day; no probation, no community correction, no sentencing guidelines,” Bailey said.
Elimination of Class D felony
The elimination of the Class D felony marks the second component of the package. Introduced in 2015, the Class D felony charge was introduced as a measure to reduce prison overcrowding, applying only to nonviolent crimes and not carrying any minimum sentences.
Bailey called the Class D felony a “failed experiment,” and argued that without mandatory minimum sentences, the charge lacked a strong enough deterrent to prevent crime.
“Businesses in our state are closing because of this law; drug courts and pretrial diversion programs are hurting because of this law,” Bailey said. “Currently, you can steal $1,400 in the state of Alabama, and it is illegal for us to send you to prison in those circumstances. This bill will change that.”
Two bills aim to eliminate the Class D felony; one in the House and one in the Senate, carried by Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville, and Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, respectively.
Increased penalties for retail theft
The third component is a bill aimed at targeting organized retail theft, which both increases penalties for those who shoplift of items valued between $500 and $1,500, and for those who shoplift in groups or with the intent to resell.
Existing law would see an individual convicted of shoplifting an item valued between $500 and $1,500 be charged with a Class D felony; under the proposed bill, that charge would be increased to a Class C felony.
The new organized retail theft statute included in the bill would see those shoplifting an item of any value charged with a Class B felony, so long as they did so “in association with one or more other persons,” or if they did so with the intent to resell the item.
Increased penalties for fentanyl possession
The final component of the package is three bills targeting fentanyl distribution. Sponsored by Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, the First Responder Protection Act would impose additional criminal charges for those who expose first responders to fentanyl, with the severity of the charges increasing were a first responder to be seriously injured or die as a result of exposure.
The second bill, the fentanyl trafficking bill that imposes mandatory minimum sentences of up to life for possession, has already been signed into law. And the third, House Bill 82, sponsored by Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, would impose a manslaughter charge to those whose sale of fentanyl resulted in a death by overdose.
Both the First Responder Protection Act and the manslaughter overdose bill received favorable reports last week in the House Judiciary Committee.
Of the fentanyl portion of the package, Barry Matson, the executive director of the Office of Prosecution Services and the ADAA, said the support was bi-partisan, and that the bill exclusively targeted fentanyl traffickers, and not users.
“Our legislation addresses traffickers and people in the business of selling fentanyl and killing people; we’re not doubling down on addicts and people with simple possession,” Matson said.
“These are traffickers in the business. If somebody has this weight of drugs, they are not a user because if they were, they’re dead.”
But Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, said the package of bills will target drug users.
“If we’re going to get rid of Class D felonies, that means you’re going to use Class C felonies, (which) means we’re going to try putting drug offenders back in prison,” England told Alabama Daily News.
“We’re also going to start putting low-level nonviolent offenders back in prison… it’s almost like we haven’t learned any lessons here in Alabama. If there’s a bag of bad ideas out there, Alabama’s just going to keep reaching in that bag.”