Alabama lawmaker wants to add to the list of offenses that would send people to death row

Alabama lawmaker wants to add to the list of offenses that would send people to death row

An Alabama legislator wants to expand the number of circumstances that can allow the death penalty to be imposed.Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, has prefiled HB 20 for the 2026 session, which would make it a capital offense to murder a person while “knowingly creat(ing) a great risk of death to multiple persons.”

Prefiled bill would add death penalty-eligible offense in Alabama

Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, sits on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on May 11, 2023. Simpson has prefiled a bill for the 2026 legislative session making murder committed while knowingly exposing others to a "great risk of death" subject to the death penalty. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)An Alabama legislator wants to expand the number of circumstances that can allow the death penalty to be imposed. Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphn…