Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

Ala. Code § 13A-5-9

Habitual Felony Offenders - Additional Penalties. (Amended by Act 2026-496)

Known as the Alabama Criminal Code

The act spans §§ 13–13 (653 sections).

Applied in 56 court decisions — leading case Ewing v. California (2003)

Most recently applied in United States v. Quinton Deairre Gardner (May 2022)

(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §1235; Acts 1979, No. 79-664, p. 1163, §1; Act 2000-759, p. 1736, §1; Act 2015-185, §2.)

How often courts cite this section

19811990200020102020202280
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

AMENDED BY ACT 2026-496, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE.

(a) In all cases when it is shown that a criminal defendant has been previously convicted of a Class A, Class B, or Class C felony and after the conviction has committed another Class A, Class B, or Class C felony, he or she must be punished as follows:

(1) On conviction of a Class C felony, he or she must be punished for a Class B felony.

(2) On conviction of a Class B felony, he or she must be punished for a Class A felony.

(3) On conviction of a Class A felony, he or she must be punished by imprisonment for life or for any term of not more than 99 years but not less than 15 years.

(b) In all cases when it is shown that a criminal defendant has been previously convicted of any two felonies that are Class A, Class B, or Class C felonies and after such convictions has committed another Class A, Class B, or Class C felony, he or she must be punished as follows:

(1) On conviction of a Class C felony, he or she must be punished for a Class A felony.

(2) On conviction of a Class B felony, he or she must be punished by imprisonment for life or for any term of not more than 99 years but not less than 15 years.

(3) On conviction of a Class A felony, he or she must be punished by imprisonment for life or for any term of not less than 99 years.

(c) In all cases when it is shown that a criminal defendant has been previously convicted of any three felonies that are Class A, Class B, or Class C felonies and after such convictions has committed another Class A, Class B, or Class C felony, he or she must be punished as follows:

(1) On conviction of a Class C felony, he or she must be punished by imprisonment for life or for any term of not more than 99 years but not less than 15 years.

(2) On conviction of a Class B felony, he or she must be punished by imprisonment for life or any term of not less than 20 years.

(3) On conviction of a Class A felony, where the defendant has no prior convictions for any Class A felony, he or she must be punished by imprisonment for life or life without the possibility of parole, in the discretion of the trial court.

(4) On conviction of a Class A felony, where the defendant has one or more prior convictions for any Class A felony, he or she must be punished by imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole.

(d) In all cases when it is shown that a criminal defendant has been previously convicted of any two or more felonies that are Class A or Class B felonies and after such convictions has committed a Class D felony, upon conviction, he or she must be punished for a Class C felony.

(e) In all cases when it is shown that a criminal defendant has been previously convicted of any three or more felonies and after such convictions has committed a Class D felony, upon conviction, he or she must be punished for a Class C felony.

Official source: Alabama Legislature (ALISON). Reproduced from public-domain Alabama statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.