Ex Parte State of Alabama. (in Re ex Parte Joel Patrick Moyers. (in Re State of Alabama v. Joel Patrick Moyers))

Summary

The court held that a defendant charged with a capital offense may be denied bail even when the State will not seek the death penalty, because a capital offense includes one punishable by death or life imprisonment without parole. Bail may be denied only if the State satisfies the required evidentiary prerequisites, and an indicted defendant bears the burden of overcoming the presumption of guilt for purposes of bail. The court reversed the Court of Criminal Appeals and remanded. Justice Moore, concurring specially, and Justice Shaw, concurring specially, agreed with the result but emphasized that the earlier discussion concerning the death penalty addressed the evidentiary showing rather than the definition of a capital offense.