MONTGOMERY — The Second Chance Act passed the Alabama Senate on Tuesday by a margin of 17-8 after initially failing to pass on its first vote in a tie, 16-16.

Under existing law, an individual who has certain prior felony convictions may be given an enhanced sentence based on his or her prior felony convictions pursuant to the habitual felony offender act. 

State Sen. Will Barfoot's (R-Pike Road) bill would provide that an individual whose sentence has been enhanced pursuant to the Habitual Felony Offender Act may be eligible to be resentenced in certain circumstances. If passed into law, this bill would sunset on Oct. 1, 2030.

"As many of you do know, under the Habitual Offender Sentencing Act, there were somewhere around 150 to 200 individuals who were sentenced before 2000 to life without the possibility of parole that, if that same crime occurred today, would not have that same sentence. In essence, what SB 156 does is allow an opportunity for those individuals who are in prison serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole to petition the court to be resentenced. Now, it's important to note that those individuals must have already served 25-plus years at least of their sentence. They may also, in the petition that they file with the court, there is a time limit of five years, so it's not an indefinite period," Barfoot said on the Senate floor on Tuesday.

Barfoot continued, "These are sentences where it's not a crime of violence as an underlying offense or anything in their past with a crime of violence or there will not be any physical injury to a victim in this case."

Barfoot said eligible prisoners would be able to petition the court in the jurisdiction where they were convicted with prosecutors and victims also being able to weigh in with the presiding judge on the possible resentencing.

State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Range), who voted against the bill on the first vote and voted present on the second vote, said "We don't really know how many (eligible prisoners) there are. The only other concern I've got is the courts. We're establishing new courts already and more are needed and yet we're going to put this additional petition in there that we haven't had."

"My concern here is that we are opening up for more costs on doing the same thing all over again possibly depending on how much they've gone through the appellate process. That's one thing I want to avoid. I don't know that we can do that. That's kind of where I am. The only way to avoid that cost would be to give him a sentence that would get him a release date or something along that line," Albritton said on the Senate floor on Tuesday.

State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine), who voted against the bill both times, said, "There's no automatic under this. That's something the judge in the second sentencing for the same crimes that the judge has to then put on."

"We don't do a 'in order to be eligible for this resentencing, you can't reoffend.' We're re-adjudicating, we are resentencing this, and then we would have to re-adjudicate again, but for the second time, the judge went back through and put some stipulations on the sentence," Elliott said on the Senate floor.

Barfoot replied, "You believe that everybody will get out. I don't believe that will happen. I believe there will be some judges who say, 'Thanks for your petition. I hear from the victim if there is one after 25-plus years on a property-type crime. I hear from you. I am not going to grant this.' On those individuals the judge may grant that petition it doesn't mean that they're getting out right then." 

"They could say I am now going to resentence you to 35 years by way of example rather than life without and that individual may go back into DOC custody. To where he or she would serve out the remainder of that sentence no different than if that individual were sentenced on day one in front of that judge," Barfoot said.

The bill is supported by Gov. Kay Ivey.

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