HB31 Summary

• Amends Section 14-3-58 of the Code of Alabama 1975 to establish the "Joel Willmore Act" requiring the Department of Corrections to notify specified agencies and media within 12 hours when an inmate escapes from a penal facility.

• Mandates notification to the Governor, Department of Public Safety, sheriffs and district attorneys of the escape county and conviction county, police chiefs in affected municipalities, and all electronic media outlets broadcasting within 75 miles of the escape location.

• Requires notifications to include the escape time and circumstances, inmate description with most recent mug shot, county of conviction, offense, and conviction date.

• Directs the department to post escape notifications on its website with the same detailed information and enter the inmate into the National Crime Information Center within 12 hours.

• Authorizes the Department of Corrections to offer a reward not exceeding $400 for apprehension of escaped inmates, payable from inmate labor proceeds upon certification that the inmate has been recaptured.