MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Legislation to heighten the criminal penalties for reckless endangerment is now pending its final vote in the Alabama Legislature.
Under current law, the penalty for reckless endangerment does not necessarily increase if the offender’s actions affect more than one person.
House Bill 266, sponsored by Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville, increases penalties if these actions endanger multiple people and adds further penalties if a deadly weapon is used in the offense.
It was approved by the House last week and a Senate committee on Tuesday.
The crime of reckless endangerment is committed when someone “recklessly engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another individual.” Examples include driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, firing a gun into the air and throwing objects from high places.
The penalty for recklessly endangering one person is currently a Class A misdemeanor, with a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a fine of up to $6,000.
Sells’ bill would up the penalty for endangering multiple lives to a Class C felony – a maximum sentence of 10 years. The use of a “deadly weapon or dangerous instrument” in addition would carry a penalty of a Class B felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
The bill was carried on the floor by Rep. David Faulkner, R-Birmingham, in Sells’ absence last week.
“When you put multiple lives at risk of substantial bodily harm, why wouldn’t we enhance the penalty?” Faulkner said when introducing the bill on the floor. “If I recklessly endanger the lives of 100 people and all they can do is charge a Class A misdemeanor?… Shouldn’t that be a greater charge when you put that many lives at risk?”
Faulkner said the legislation was brought at the request of district attorneys in Alabama. A Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.
During House floor debate, Rep. A.J. McCampbell, D-Demopolis expressed concerns that bills increasing criminal penalties can contribute to the overcrowding issue in Alabama prisons.
Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, didn’t explicitly agree or disagree with McCampbell’s characterization that the bill would worsen overcrowding when asked.
“I think the prison overcrowding situation has been a problem for a number of years, and Gov. Ivey has addressed that by constructing a new prison that should be open by the end of this year,” Ledbetter told reporters Thursday afternoon. “I think that Alabamians want people who do bad things in jail. We will make sure that we continue to have strong laws that will ensure that will happen for bad people.”
The state is currently building a new $1 billion-plus mega prison in Elmore County with plans for a second in Escambia County. The two new prisons won’t add beds to the Alabama Department of Corrections’ capacity, but will largely replace existing space in three outdated facilities.