Alabama’s sentencing laws were immediately placed under the microscope after Bibb County sheriff’s deputy Brad Johnson was killed in the line of duty last week.
Due to the circumstances that led to the early release of Austin Hall, the formerly incarcerated career criminal charged in last week’s shooting, pressure is being levied upon the Alabama Legislature to strengthen penalties and reform sentencing statutes.
On June 29, the 26-year-old Hall allegedly shot Johnson and his fellow Bibb County sheriff’s deputy while being pursued in a stolen vehicle.
RELATED: ‘Brad Johnson was a hero’: Tributes pour in for fallen Bibb County sheriff’s deputy
A large-scale manhunt consisting of multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, led to Hall’s capture. He has since been charged with three counts of capital murder and one count of attempted murder.
In question was how Hall was able to obtain freedom from incarceration given his extensive history of violent criminal conduct.
Wednesday, Attorney General Steve Marshall released a statement detailing the findings of a review his office had conducted regarding Hall’s criminal background.
“In the days since the death of Bibb County Deputy Sheriff Brad Johnson, my Office has undertaken a thorough review of the circumstances surrounding the Bibb County shooter’s release from custody,” Marshall’s statement began.
“The shooter’s first encounter with the law came in 2016 as a result of theft and burglary charges, for which he was placed on probation,” he added. “During his probationary period, he was arrested on nine new charges of theft and burglary. Pursuant to a plea deal, he pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree theft and was sentenced in 2018 to nine years and nine months imprisonment in the Department of Corrections, likely due to his criminal history.”
Marshall advised that Hall was rewarded due to Alabama’s so-called “Good Time” law, which allows criminals to gain early release under the state’s Correctional Incentive Time statutes.
“In 2019, while on work release with the Department of Corrections, the shooter escaped from custody and fled across state lines,” outlined the attorney general. “He was recaptured shortly thereafter. Despite this, after serving less than four years of his sentence, the shooter was awarded correctional incentive time (good time), which was (and inexplicably remains) permissible under the state’s ultra-lenient incentive time law. The shooter ended his sentence on April 8, 2022, and was fully released from the Department of Corrections’ custody and supervision.”
He continued, “Days after his release from state custody, the shooter bonded out of jail on 10 new charges in Calhoun County and 12 new charges in Chilton County—including charges of assaulting a police officer and illegally possessing a firearm. In both counties, his bond was set in keeping with the recommended fee range. After he made bond, the shooter walked free to await his trial.”
Marshall pointed to last year’s fatal shooting of Sheffield Police Department Sgt. Nick Risner, who was killed by a criminal that was granted early release under the state’s correctional incentive laws.
“As was the case with the death of Sergeant Nick Risner last fall, this tragedy requires that we reassess the state laws and policies that abetted this shooter in the death of Deputy Brad Johnson,” he declared. “The People of Alabama have heard me say many times before that Alabama’s Correctional Incentive Time laws are broken. Had the shooter served his entire sentence, he would not have been able to commit his brazen crime spree across our State, which ended in capital murder. Furthermore, an inmate who escapes custody should never, under any circumstance, be rewarded with early release.”
Alabama’s chief law enforcement officer called for the strengthening of criminal penalties surrounding the assault of a police officer and said that the state’s justice system had “failed” Johnson and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
“Lastly, the crime of assaulting a police officer should be a Class B*, not a Class C, felony and the bond schedule for assaulting a police officer must be increased to better account for the severity of this crime,” proclaimed Marshall.
The attorney general concluded, “As I said last week, Alabama’s justice system failed the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and Deputy Brad Johnson. I stand ready to partner with the Alabama Legislature to correct these deficiencies at the earliest opportunity and will continue to fight against any effort to further weaken Alabama’s criminal justice system.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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