After the disappearance hoax in Alabama that landed Carlee Russell in hot water with law enforcement and spurred one state lawmaker to propose legislation to exacerbate penalties for other similar ruses, sports journalist and podcaster Jemele Hill‘s thoughts alleging that legislation is racially motivated has sparked some conversation online.
Republican state Sen. April Weaver announced her plans to draft a bill in the 2024 session that would upgrade fake abduction charges from misdemeanors to felonies shortly after it was discovered that Russell lied to police and the public about being kidnapped.
That legislation would also intensify the consequences for convictions, including stronger prison sentences and mandatory restitution requirements for the total cost of resources it took law enforcement agencies to respond to a sham abduction.
“This fictitious kidnapping caused fear and shock not only throughout the legislative district I represent, but also throughout our state and nation,” Weaver said in a statement. “Individuals who concoct and carry out sham kidnappings and lead our law enforcement officers on wild goose chases must be given severe penalties for their deceptive actions.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has pledged to seek restitution from Russell. In the meantime, she faces two misdemeanors for false reporting to law enforcement and false reporting of an incident, both of which carry a maximum punishment of one year in jail.
After news of Weaver’s intentions to introduce the legislation, Jemele Hill chimed in on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, stating, “Alabama gonna Alabama every damn time.”
When another user asked Hill to elaborate on her thoughts about the proposed bill, she chalked up Weaver’s motivations for the bill as overkill, claiming that Russell’s race plays a role in the effort.
Read the full article here