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In Alabama, the common law felony murder rule has been codified in Alabama Code § 13A-6-2(a)(3). It provides that when a person commits various crimes and "in the course of and in furtherance of the crime" another is killed, then the perpetrator is guilty of murder, a "Class A Felony", the punishment of which is not less than 10 years nor more than 99 years in prison, or life in prison.
Beck was tried for capital murder. Under the Code of Alabama, Section 13-11-2 (1975), the requisite intent to kill could not be supplied by the felony murder doctrine. Felony murder was thus a lesser-included offense of the capital crime of robbery with an intentional killing.
The following kinds of murder are punishable by death in Alabama: [11] Murder by the defendant during a kidnapping in the first degree or an attempt thereof committed by the defendant. Murder by the defendant during a robbery in the first degree. There is no attempted robbery in Alabama because it's a crime against the person and not the property.
A jury then sentenced him to life without parole by a vote of 11 to one, which was overruled by the judge who gave him the death penalty for a second time in 1996.
Jury instructions are given to the jury by the judge, who usually reads them aloud to the jury. The judge issues a judge's charge to inform the jury how to act in deciding a case. [9] The jury instructions provide something of a flowchart on what verdict jurors should deliver based on what they determine to be true. Put another way, "If you ...
Bishop was charged with one count of capital murder and three counts of attempted murder. On September 11, 2012, she pleaded guilty to the charges after family members of victims petitioned the judge against use of the death penalty. The jury heard a condensed version of the evidence on September 24, as required by Alabama law.
Ivey responded to critics, claiming, "...he later bragged about his participation in these horrific murders. As such, the jury did not view Woods’ acts as those of an innocent bystander; they believed that he was a fully engaged participant." [20] Woods's execution made him the 67th death row prisoner to be executed in Alabama since 1978. [10]
In criminal jury trials, the court is permitted (but not required) to instruct jurors that they can find the defendant guilty of the most serious crime charged, or of a lesser included offense of that crime (in English law, this is termed an alternative verdict).