Opinion ID: 1841753
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Heading: history of the death penalty in alabama

Text: The death penalty has always existed in Alabama as a means of punishing those who commit the most serious crimes. What constituted the most serious crimes was necessarily dependent upon societal interests and values existing at the time the various death penalty statutes were adopted. These societal interests and values most often reflected traditional views of what offenses authorized the imposition of death and, during part of Alabama's history, reflected the interaction and relative position of the races, especially during the period prior to the Civil War, when slaves and free Negroes were admittedly singled out for special treatment insofar as capital punishment was concerned. Nevertheless, with that one exception, the history of capital punishment in this state, from pioneer days until the present, reveals a decided attitude that for certain aggravated offenses, especially those which involve the intentional killing of another, only death stands as a commensurate punishment. In 1807, the Legislative Council and House of Representatives of the Mississippi Territory enacted the first criminal code to be in force in the territory (a portion of which would later become the State of Alabama). See, H. Toulmin, A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Tit. 17 (1823). This criminal code authorized death by hanging as a mode of punishment (Tit. 17, Chapt. 1, § 50), and specified ten capital crimes. These original capital crimes were willful murder (Tit. 17, Chapt. 1, § 1), arson (Tit. 17, Chapt. 1, § 8), rape (Tit. 17, Chapt. 1, § 6), robbery (Tit. 17, Chapt. 1, § 10), burglary (Tit. 17, Chapt. 1, § 11), accessory before the fact to any murder, arson, rape, robbery or burglary (Tit. 17, Chapt. 1, § 12), treason (Tit. 17, Chapt. 1, § 2), slave stealing (Tit. 17, Chapt. 1, § 18), selling a free person as a slave (Tit. 17, Chapt. 1, § 7), and counterfeiting coins (Tit. 17, Chapt. 1, § 26). In 1812, an amendment to the 1807 Code was passed specifying three additional capital crimes, i. e., aiding any insurrection by slaves (Tit. 17, Chapt. 5, § 3), conspiracy by any slave to commit murder or rebel (Tit. 17, Chapt. 5, § 7), and forgery (Tit. 17, Chapt. 6, § 6). Each of these capital statutes was mandatory in nature, providing that any person who committed the specified crimes shall suffer death. Excluding those statutes which were founded upon societal values extant during the period when slavery was legal in Alabama, only the following crimes were deemed serious enough to warrant the death penaltymurder, arson, rape, robbery, burglary, treason, forgery and counterfeiting. By the close of the Legislative General Assembly in January of 1833, the death penalty laws of the state had not undergone any significant changes. See, J. Aikin, A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama (1833). The thirteen crimes previously specified were again found deserving of capital punishment. In addition, a new subsection was added to the criminal code entitled Crimes and Misdemeanors by Persons of Color. This subsection recognized three new capitally punishable crimes, viz., any second conviction of any Negro or mulatto whatsoever (p. 113, § 75), accessory of any sort to a capital crime or maiming of any white person by a slave (p. 114, § 78), and any attempt to commit a rape on any free white female by any person of color (p. 114, § 80). Outside of this subsection, the only new capital crime found under the Code was circulating seditious papers for the purpose of inciting insurrection among the slaves (p. Ill, § 66). The penalty under these statutes was again mandatory. The only major alteration, whether deemed procedural or substantive, that took place in the usage of the death penalty was pursuant to § 36 of the 1833 Code, which provided that the death penalty could not be imposed except in those cases expressly authorized by statute; however, a dramatic change took place on January 9, 1836, when the legislature of the State passed an act to mitigate the severity of its penal laws (1836 Ala. Acts, Act No. 48). That act provided that white citizens could no longer be capitally punished for the crimes of arson, robbery or burglary; Blacks convicted of those crimes could be sentenced to death. In addition, punishment for the crimes of forgery and counterfeiting was reduced to terms of imprisonment. As a result of this act, only the following crimes (excluding those based upon cultural and racial considerations) could be punished by the imposition of deathmurder, rape and treason. As for these crimes, the death penalty was mandatory. In 1841, history was made in Alabama with the passage and enactment of Alabama's first official penal code. See, A. Meek, A Supplement to Aikin's Digest on the Laws of the State of Alabama (1841). This penal code accomplished a variety of things, including the establishment of a statewide penitentiary system. As concerns the usage and imposition of the death penalty, the mandatory language of prior statutes was removed and jury discretion was authorized. [1] The statutes enacted at this time represent the forerunners of the death penalty statutes eradicated in the wake of Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972). Under this 1841 code, the death penalty (or life imprisonment at the discretion of the jury), could be imposed for the following offensestreason (Penal Code, Chapter II, § 1), murder in the first degree (Penal Code, Chapter III, § 1), aiding any insurrection by slaves (Penal Code, Chapter II, § 2), circulating seditious papers for the purpose of inciting insurrection among slaves (Penal Code, Chapter II, § 4), and killing any slave in a barbarous manner (Penal Code, Chapter III, § 5). Rape, which under every statute prior to 1841 was punished capitally, could now only be punished by life imprisonment (Penal Code, Chapter III, § 14). Punishments for other previously capital crimes were similarly reduced to terms of imprisonment ( e. g., selling any free person as a slavereduced to ten years). Robbery was deemed punishable by imprisonment for not less than ten years (Penal Code, Chapter III, § 28), burglary by imprisonment for not less than three nor more than fifty years (Penal Code, Chapter IV, § 64), and first degree arson by imprisonment for not less than fourteen years (Penal Code, Chapter IV, § 68). The final chapter of the Penal Code of 1841 pertained to crimes by slaves and free Negroes. Admittedly, as was true of the societal values then existing, the Code treated these individuals much more harshly. The imposition of the death penalty for the following crimes can only be explained by deferring to historyconspiracy by any slave to murder or rebel (Penal Code, Chapter XV, § 1), murder of any white person or assault with intent to murder any white person by any slave (Penal Code, Chapter XV, § 2), rape or attempt to commit rape of any white female by any slave or free Negro (Penal Code, Chapter XV, § 3), burglary, robbery or maiming of any white person by a slave (Penal Code, Chapter XV, § 4), and arson by any slave (Penal Code, Chapter XV, § 5). These statutes were mandatory in nature. The 1841 Penal Code as described above remained unchanged until the ratification and passage of the Code of Alabama of 1852. Under the first official Code of Alabama, enacted in 1852, death by hanging was expressly authorized as one of several modes of punishment (§ 3069); however, even though it was clearly specified, its use was authorized in very limited instances. Outside of the various slave statutes enacted in 1841, and recodified under the 1852 Code (§§ 3306-3313), death could only be imposed in two limited situations, viz., where the defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree (§ 3080), or where the defendant was convicted of treason (§ 3075). In these limited cases, death could be imposed at the discretion of the jury. Other serious crimes were specified under the Code as deserving of a less severe punishment, i. e., life imprisonment. These crimes were rape (§ 3090), carnal knowledge of a female above ten years of age by administering to her any substance which prevents an effectual resistance (§ 3091), and carnal knowledge of a female under ten years of age (§ 3092). Other crimes now considered serious were deemed punishable only by terms of imprisonment (e. g., robbery [not less than ten years (§ 3104)], burglary [three to fifty years (§ 3184)], first degree arson [not less than fourteen years (§ 3193)]). As is apparent, under the 1852 Code, the usage of the death penalty was narrowly confined. The revised Code of Alabama of 1867 (post-Civil War), reveals that the so-called Reconstruction Legislature expanded significantly the crimes for which the death penalty could be imposed. Like the Code of 1852, the Code of 1867 authorized death by hanging as one of several forms of punishment. Similarly, treason (§ 3547), and murder in the first degree (§ 3653), were specified as two crimes for which a sentence of death could be imposed; however, in addition to these two crimes, the legislature authorized the imposition of the death penalty when a defendant was convicted of any of the following crimesrape (§ 3661), carnal knowledge of any female above ten years of age by administering to her any substance which prevents an effectual resistance (§ 3662), carnal knowledge of any female under ten years of age (§ 3663), carnal knowledge of any married woman by falsely impersonating her husband (§ 3664), robbery (§ 3668), and first degree arson (§ 3697). The imposition of the death penalty in such cases was, as before, to be governed entirely by the discretion of the jury. All in all, the 1867 Code represented a return to the pre-1836 treatment of these offenses. In short, the Reconstruction Legislature reinstituted the death penalty for certain crimes, but abrogated the slavery statutes which previously characterized the Code of 1852. The Code of 1867 also contained the first statutes concerning the capital punishment of crimes committed by convicts serving life sentences. Specifically, the Code provided that any convict, sentenced to imprisonment for life, who committed murder (§ 3900), assault with intent to commit murder (§ 3901), or effectuated an escape or attempted to escape (§ 3902), should suffer death. The statutes were mandatory. The Code of Alabama of 1876 made no changes in Alabama's death penalty law. Jury discretion continued to govern its imposition for the following crimestreason (§ 4100), murder in the first degree (§ 4296), rape (§ 4304), carnal knowledge of any female over ten years of age by administering any substance which prevents an effectual resistance (§ 4304), carnal knowledge of any female under ten years of age (§ 4306), carnal knowledge of any married woman by impersonating her husband (§ 4307), robbery (§ 4311), and arson (§ 4346). Likewise, the convict statutes remained the same except that escapes or attempted escapes by life inmates were no longer punishable by death. (See, §§ 4598 and 4599.) The Code of Alabama of 1887 contained no changes. Prior Alabama criminal law was merely recodified with the death penalty remaining as a viable criminal punishment. Comparative sections were as followstreason (§ 3724), murder in the first degree (§ 3729), convict murder (§ 3730), convict assault with intent to commit murder (§ 3752), rape (§ 3736), carnal knowledge of any female over ten years of age by administering any substance which prevents an effectual resistance (§ 3738), carnal knowledge of any female under ten years of age (§ 3739), carnal knowledge of any married woman by impersonating her husband (§ 3740), robbery (§ 3742), and arson (§ 3780). Jury discretion remained the standard for imposing a sentence of death. The Code of Alabama of 1897, like its predecessor, contained no major substantive changes. The only changes which did occur involved the age specification in the carnal knowledge statutes. To be specific, the statutes raised the age designation from ten to fourteen years. See, §§ 5446, 5447 and 5449. In addition, the 1897 Code added as a new capital offense, the crime of train robbery (§ 5480); beyond that, the capital offenses remained exactly the same. With the turn of the century and the enactment of yet another Code of Alabama, the death penalty remained a viable means of punishing individuals who committed certain aggravated offenses. See, Code of 1907, § 7620. The 1907 Code added yet another capital offense to those traditionally recognized, that offense being the crime of kidnapping for ransom (§ 6214). Other than that, the 1907 Code recodified verbatim prior existing criminal statutes. The most striking contribution which the Code of 1923 would make to the history of the death penalty in Alabama was its modification of the manner in which the death penalty would be imposed. Under all previous codes and statutes, death by hanging was the statutorily defined means of punishing a defendant capitally; by virtue of § 5309 of the Code of 1923, death by electrocution would thenceforth be the method. Other than the change of the method of execution of the death sentence, the Code of 1923 followed its immediate predecessor in its entirety. The 1928 recompilation of the Code of 1923 made no changes in Alabama's death penalty law, save the addition and definition of yet another capital offense, i. e., exploding or setting off any dynamite in or under any steamboat, or vessel, or railroad car, in which there is at the time any human being, or any prison or jail, or any other house or building, which is occupied by a person, or any inhabited dwelling (§ 3886). As in all other capital cases, the imposition of the death penalty was to be fixed at the discretion of the jury. These older codes and statutes show the evolution and constant development of Alabama's death penalty law between 1819 and 1940. The 1940 Alabama Code added three new capital offenses (attempted kidnapping [Tit. 14, § 8], second degree arson [Tit. 14, § 24], and burglary in the first degree [Tit. 14, § 85]). In 1943, the legislature adopted what the Supreme Court of the United States, in Coleman v. Alabama, 377 U.S. 129, 84 S.Ct. 1152, 12 L.Ed.2d 190 (1964), called an enlightened procedure of an automatic appeal which now formulates a very important factor in achieving a uniform imposition of the death penalty (1943 Ala. Acts, Act No. 249). Thus, prior to Furman (ignoring all the procedural developments in the administration of the death penalty), the following offenses were punishable by death by electrocution or life imprisonment at the discretion of the jury treason (Tit. 14, § 424), murder in the first degree (Tit. 14, § 318), rape (Tit. 14, § 395), carnal knowledge of any female over fourteen years of age by administering any substance which prevents an effectual resistance (Tit. 14, § 397), carnal knowledge of any female under twelve years of age (Tit. 14, § 398), carnal knowledge of a married woman by falsely impersonating her husband (Tit. 14, § 400), robbery (Tit. 14, § 415), kidnapping for ransom (Tit. 14, § 7), attempted kidnapping (Tit. 14, § 8), first degree arson (Tit. 14, § 23), second degree arson (Tit. 14, § 24), first degree burglary (Tit. 14, § 85), and exploding dynamite near an occupied dwelling (Tit. 14, § 123). No person has been punished capitally in Alabama since William F. Bowen, Jr. was executed for the brutal stabbing murder of Janice Clower Thomas, a twenty-seven-year-old white female. Bowen, a white male, age thirty, worked for the Home Pest Control Company in Huntsville, Alabama, and visited the victim's home on a work order. Upon entering the victim's residence, he forced her into a bedroom and ordered her to remove her clothes. Bowen testified that he intended to rape the victim but felt ashamed and changed his mind. When he started to leave the home, the victim attempted to use a phone and call the police. Bowen reacted by grabbing a rolling pin and beating the victim about the head until she was unconscious. He then secured a butcher knife from the kitchen and proceeded to stab the victim fourteen times. An autopsy revealed that the victim had been stabbed three times in the chest, six times in the back and five times in the neck. The knife was found in the body protruding from the neck. At the time of the homicide, the victim's two children, a two-year-old boy and a four-month-old girl, were asleep in their bedrooms. The victim's body was discovered by her husband when he returned home from work in the early evening. Bowen was convicted of the murder in late 1961, and executed in September of 1965. The history of the death penalty in Alabama shows without question that throughout the state's history, the legislature has authorized the death penalty for the intentional killing of another. During part of that history, slaves and free Negroes were singled out for different treatment, but those racially based laws were abrogated over 100 years ago, and from that time until the decision in Furman, the type of crimes for which the death penalty could be given did not significantly change. We do not have available to us any statistics which would indicate the number and frequency with which the death penalty was imposed during the period after the Civil War and prior to Furman, but we have examined some of the capital cases which were pending at the time Furman was decided. We examined these cases to determine whether the death penalty may have been imposed in an arbitrary or capricious manner. We were especially interested in determining whether racial discrimination may have been present. [2] Our research of the convictions prior to the Furman decision for which defendants were awaiting execution at the time of Furman brought certain relevant statistics to light. In our research we examined the convictions of the 23 persons who were on death row in Alabama at the time of Furman. We reviewed those 23 cases to determine the nature of the offense for which those defendants received the death penalty, the race of the defendants and the race of the victims, primarily to determine the profile of defendants selected for the capital penalty, and to determine, if we could, whether racial discrimination might have infected the jury verdicts in those cases. Even though the available data which we reviewed is not sufficient to support a definite conclusion on our part, we are of the opinion that the data we reviewed, if it shows anything, shows that pre-Furman juries may have exercised their untrammelled discretion on a racial basis in cases of rape involving a black defendant and a white victim. Excluding those rape cases, however, and basing our opinion on an examination of the data we have available, we cannot reach any conclusion whether racial discrimination infected the jury verdicts in any of the remaining cases, but we include that data which we did review. [3] Given the fact that racial bias in the trial and sentencing process may have influenced some past convictions, any improper practice of the past should not affect the present application of the death penalty under the guidelines we set out in this opinion. [4] The possibility of racial or other bias in the trial or sentencing process has greatly diminished in Alabama in the last several years. To begin with, the entire judicial system was revamped and Alabama is now recognized nationally as having one of the best judicial systems in the nation. The Death Penalty Act was passed by a legislature which was reapportioned under a federal court order which insured representation of minorities by a wholesale redistricting of the state. Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 84 S.Ct. 1362, 12 L.Ed.2d 506 (1964). Furthermore, Alabama has adopted a Jury Selection Act which declares, as policy, that all persons selected for jury service be selected at random from a fair cross section of the population of the area served by the court, and that all qualified citizens have the opportunity, in accordance with this article, to be considered for jury service in this state and an obligation to serve as jurors when summoned for that purpose. Code 1975, § 12-16-55. Discrimination in jury selection is specifically prohibited. Code 1975, § 12-16-56. Finally, the procedural changes mandated by this opinion will further decrease the likelihood that a sentence of death will be imposed in an arbitrary or capricious manner.