WALA, Mobile, Alabama -Representative Barbara Drummond of Alabama has announced the first step toward reducing the number of innocent deaths caused by gunshot. She claims that recent shooting incidents, such as the one in December that claimed the life of 9-year-old Cailee Knight while she was asleep on her couch and the one on i-165 that murdered a 15-year-old innocent person, served as the impetus for the measure.
According to Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch, “Less than 2% of the population commits these types of crimes, and the majority of them are repeat offenders.”
“The 9-year-old was shot by a young man who had recently been released from prison. got out of jail one day and committed another crime that Friday, according to Representative Barbara Drummond of Alabama.
As of right now, firing into an occupied or empty building or vehicle carries a Class B felony charge, while firing into an unoccupied building carries a Class C felony charge. The bill introduced by Representative Drummond would elevate both to Class A felonies.
which, according to Drummond, “will come with 5-99 years.” “This will enable the prosecutor to go after them and impose penalties, preventing them from entering a plea of not guilty.”
In the state, shooting into cars or buildings is becoming a bigger issue. Over 2,100 cases were documented in the state last year. With 820 instances, Jefferson County had the highest number, followed by Mobile County with 268 cases.
“We had a 10-year-old child who was grazed in a car from the same type of crime just this past weekend,” stated Paul Prine, chief of mobile police. “It must end.”
The family of Grace Carter, who was killed in 2021 when a stray gunshot entered Everlasting Holiness Church in Prichard through the front door, is one family that is aware of the suffering these acts may cause.”We had been married for almost 34 years,” recalled Cecil Carter, Grace’s husband. “I’m doing great with it, but having to do her eulogy was the hardest thing for me to deal with.”
It is hoped that this bill will prevent some people from shooting without thinking. And put those who do so behind bars for a very long period.
Sheriff Burch stated, “They should be held accountable for as long as we can keep them there when they decide to pull the trigger not knowing what’s on the other side of that wall.”
Grace Carter’s daughter Dee Carter stated, “My family and I stand by it 100% and we’re hoping that this at least saves one family from going through what we’re going through.”
