An Alabama legislator has prefiled bills that would restrict the ability of judges to grant youthful offender status to minors charged with murder.
House Bill 11, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Killeen, prohibits a court from granting youthful offender status to a defendant who is 16 or older if the person is charged with murder or capital murder.
A message was sent to Pettus on Wednesday seeking comment.
Currently, a judge may grant youthful offender status after an investigation to defendants younger than 21 and charged with crimes that are either considered crimes of moral turpitude or those that can lead to incarceration for at least a year, according to the legislation.
Afterward, the defendant can then be charged as a youthful offender and are subject to lighter penalties than adults charged with the same crimes.