Alabama legislative efforts deserve praise for passing public safety bills
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Eye on Politics
Paul DeMarco
It has been a little more than a month since Alabama lawmakers returned home from the statehouse. With the dust settling, we can look back at some of what was passed and some that should have passed.
The governor and legislative leaders promised that public safety would be the number one priority this past session. There were some bills that met that goal that did become law.
One of those bills, the Speedy Trial Act, was passed to expedite criminal trial dockets to ensure crime victims get justice and hold violent felons accountable. The new law streamlines the process to appoint judges to clear backlogs of cases so prosecutors can move forward to timely get criminal cases to the jury.
The Alabama Legislature also expanded Aniah’s Law denying bail to an expanded list of violent crimes. In addition to murder – shooting into a home or car, and the solicitation to attempt or conspiracy to commit murder would also allow judges to keep alleged felons committing these crimes behind bars until their day in court.
There was also more than $1 million appropriated for the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission to reimburse crime victims for crime-related expenses and pay for the cost of more than 1,000 sexual assault forensic exams. The funding has been a long time coming on both counts to provide for the needs of crime victims. In addition, for years there has been a backlog of rape kits that hindered the ability to prosecute rape cases.
There were also several bills that would have pushed the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles into releasing more violent felons from state prisons, but none of those passed. These efforts will continue so those who want a parole board that actually ensures that true justice is served with those who are sentenced for crimes and the victims they leave behind need to stay vigilant.
While this session did see some very good bills pass that were favorable for public safety, there were others that will create more crime victims. What needs to truly be made a priority to establish a criminal justice system that does serve justice is truth in sentencing.
In the meantime, we can give Alabama state representatives and senators credit for passing some legislation that hopefully will do right by crime victims and keep our streets safe.
Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and can be found on X, formerly Twitter, at @Paul_DeMarco.
