FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
June 19, 2014
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Claire Haynes (334) 242-7351
Alabama Attorney General
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AG WILL ASK COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS FOR REHEARING TO
PRESERVE STATE LAW CRIMINALIZING NONCONSENSUAL SEX ACTS
(MONTGOMERY)–Attorney General Luther Strange announced today that he
will ask the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to reconsider its recent decision in
Williams v. State of Alabama striking down Alabama’s sexual misconduct statute as
unconstitutional.
“This case is not about consensual sex.” Attorney General Strange said. “Instead,
the sexual misconduct statute is an important tool to protect homosexual and
heterosexual victims from nonconsensual sex.”
Nearly 40 years ago, the Legislature passed a law that criminalized all acts of
anal and oral sex regardless of gender or sexual orientation. The Attorney General’s
Office long ago conceded that the law was not constitutional as it applied to consensual
sex. In Williams, the Attorney General’s Office asked the court to leave the law in place
for the prosecution of nonconsensual sex acts. Instead, the court chose to strike down
the law in its entirety.
The impact of the Williams decision is illustrated by the case of Thomas Gilbert,
which is also currently pending before the Court of Criminal Appeals. The 54-year-old
Gilbert gave enough alcohol to a teenage boy to render him severely drunk and then
had sex with the teenager without his consent. With the support of the victim and his
family, the State allowed Gilbert to plead guilty to the offense of sexual misconduct. If
Williams stands, Gilbert’s conviction will also be reversed, even though the sex was
nonconsensual, and Gilbert will not have to register as a sex offender.
“The Williams decision leaves all Alabamians less protected from nonconsensual
sex and potentially calls into question numerous past convictions, involving both
heterosexual and homosexual defendants and victims,” Attorney General Strange said.
“That is why I intend to ask the Court of Criminal Appeals to reconsider its decision.”
The Attorney General’s Office expects to file its request for rehearing by June 27.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov
