Latest news with #AlabamaHouseJudiciaryCommittee
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Alabama House bill would add criminal penalty to law banning organ harvesting
Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, presents a bill in the Alabama House of Representatives on April 25, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House Judiciary Committee Wednesday approved legislation that would criminalize medical examiners who retain the organs of people without family approval. HB 383, sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, makes it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, to take organs without a family's permission. This is the second year that England filed legislation pertaining that adds a criminal penalty to the practice of illegally retaining organs in the state without notifying the deceased individual's next of kin. The House Judiciary Committee approved a similar bill last year, but it stalled in the House chamber. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The legislation is in response to a lawsuit that alleges that the Alabama Department of Corrections and the University of Alabama at Birmingham had an agreement that gave the university permission to retain the organs of those who died in prison. Families of the deceased said they were not informed of the arrangement or that their loved ones' body parts were taken without their permission.. State code already prohibits medical examiners from retaining organs unless specifically allowed by the Governor's Office, the Alabama Attorney General's Office or the district attorney in the case, but the law did not outline any sanctions. 'Basically, the warden was giving UAB permission to keep those organs in violation of a very clear prohibition,' England said to the committee during the meeting. Montgomery Circuit Court Judge J.R. Gaines, presiding over the lawsuit, denied a motion by the University of Alabama System and the ADOC earlier this month to dismiss the case. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House committee approves expansion of Aniah's Law
Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, speaks to the Alabama Senate on Feb. 12, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. He introduces legislation to expand scope of Aniah's Law for pretrial detention. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House Judiciary Committee Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment increasing the number of offenses where a judge may deny bail. SB 118, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, would expand the scope of Aniah's Law, a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2022. 'It updates Aniah's Law, keeps the same standard in place of an evidentiary hearing,' said Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollingers Island, who introduced the measure to committee members in Barfoot's place. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Prior to approval of Aniah's Law, judges could only deny bond to individuals charged with capital murder. The amendment expanded that to include other serious crimes such as murder, kidnapping and rape. That bill was named after Aniah Blanchard, a Southern Union Community College student who went missing in October 2019 and whose body was found a month later. Ibraheem Yazeed, who was charged with capital murder in Blanchard's death, had been charged with several violent crimes but released on bail months before Blanchard was killed. Yazeed is still awaiting trial. Aniah's Law allows prosecutors to request a hearing to determine if a defendant should be denied bond for committing a violent Class A felony such as rape and murder. Judges may still grant bond after hearing prosecution's claims however. SB 118 would make other charges subject to bond denial, including having a firearm or firing a gun into places with people, or soliciting, attempting or engaging in a conspiracy to commit murder. There was little discussion before the committee approved the legislation to move forward onto the House floor. The legislation is among the list of bills that Gov. Kay Ivey included as part of the public safety package she and leaders of the Republican conference made a priority for the session. Ivey last week signed legislation making it a state crime to use a Glock switch to convert a semiautomatic pistol into a fully automatic weapon. Other bills are working their way through the legislative process, which includes granting law enforcement additional immunity protections. If SB 118 passes the Legislature, it will be placed on the 2026 primary ballot. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
