Rape in Alabama is currently defined across three sections of its Criminal Code: Definitions, Rape in the First Degree, and Rape in the Second Degree. Each section addresses components of the crime such as age, sentencing, the genders of the individuals involved, and the acts involved.

Alabama rape law in the present

Currently, the Code of Alabama provides the following Definitions relating to sexual offenses:"The following definitions apply in this article:

"(1) SEXUAL INTERCOURSE. Such term has its ordinary meaning and occurs upon any penetration, however slight; emission is not required."Ala. Code § 13A-6-60(1). "(2) DEVIATE SEXUAL INTERCOURSE. Any act of sexual gratification between persons not married to each other involving the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another."Ala. Code 1975 § 13A-6-60(2). "(3) SEXUAL CONTACT. Any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person not married to the actor, done for the purpose of gratifying the sexual desire of either party."Ala. Code 1975 § 13A-6-60(3). "(4) FEMALE. Any female person."Ala. Code 1975 § 13A-6-60(4). "(5) MENTALLY DEFECTIVE. Such term means that a person suffers from a mental disease or defect which renders him incapable of appraising the nature of his conduct.Ala. Code 1975 § 13A-6-60(5). "(6) MENTALLY INCAPACITATED. Such term means that a person is rendered temporarily incapable of appraising or controlling his conduct owing to the influence of a narcotic or intoxicating substance administered to him without his consent, or to any other incapacitating act committed upon him without his consent."Ala. Code 1975 § 13A-6-60(6). "(7) PHYSICALLY HELPLESS. Such term means that a person is unconscious or for any other reason is physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act."Ala. Code 1975 § 13A-6-60(7). "(8) FORCIBLE COMPULSION. Physical force that overcomes earnest resistance or a threat, express or implied, that places a person in fear of immediate death or serious physical injury to himself or another person."Ala. Code 1975 § 13A-6-60(8).The current Code of Alabama codifies Rape in the First Degree as:Ala. Code 1975 § 13A-6-61."(a) A person commits the crime of rape in the first degree if:

(1) He or she engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex by forcible compulsion; or (2) He or she engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who is incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated; or (3) He or she, being 16 years or older, engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who is less than 12 years old.

(b) Rape in the first degree is a Class A felony."The current Code of Alabama codifies Rape in the Second Degree as:Ala. Code 1975 § 13A-6-62."(a) A person commits the crime of rape in the second degree if:

(1) Being 16 years or older, he or she engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex less than 16 and more than 12 years old, provided, however, the actor is at least two years older than the member of the opposite sex. (2) He or she engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who is incapable of consent by reason of being mentally defective.

(b) Rape in the second degree is a Class B felony."The statutory definition of rape, and many of the terms used to define rape, have varied over the years, as the Alabama legislature has amended its criminal code frequently. Any understanding of the statutory prohibitions of rape is not complete without the common law application of the code, but that is beyond the scope of this article.

There is currently a House Bill being considered by the Alabama Legislature that, if adopted, would significantly amend Rape Law in Alabama.

Legislative history, 1807-1852 Even before Alabama was a State, members of its legislature (as part of the Mississippi Territory) adopted an Act prohibiting rape. Across the next century, as Alabama joined the United States and its legislature codified and re-codified its laws, Alabama's prohibition of rape, and understanding of what constituted rape, transformed.

Alabama's earliest prohibition of rape provided a sentence of death, although it then limited the sentence to life imprisonment.

1807 Act for the Punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors In 1807, before Alabama became a state, the Legislative Council and House of Representatives of the Mississippi Territory passed the Act for the Punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors.1823 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Tit. XVII "Crimes and Misdemeanors," Ch. 1 "Act for the Punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors," p. 206, § 1. The Act was originally passed in June 1802, but was "re-enacted with some amendments"1823 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Tit. XVII "Crimes and Misdemeanors," Ch. 1 "Act for the Punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors," p. 206. as Act No. 6 of 1807.1833 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, "List of the Statute Laws, of a Public and General Nature," p. 4 (Digest published in 1836).

The Act for the Punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors of 1807 prohibited rape:1823 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Tit. XVII "Crimes and Misdemeanors," Ch. 1 "Act for the Punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors," p. 207, § 6, "Rape.""And be it further enacted, That every person who shall commit the crime of rape, and be thereof convicted, shall suffer death."

Amendments of the Mississippi Territory legislative body The Legislative Council and House of Representatives of the Mississippi Territory amended this Act two times before Alabama became a Territory, but neither of the amendments changed the language of the section prohibiting rape.1823 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Tit. XVII "Crimes and Misdemeanors," Ch. 5 "An Act to amend the Act for the Punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors," p. 224 (amending the sections on manslaughter, adultery, aiding insurrections, habeas corpus, forgery, and rebellions; passed December 21, 1812); 1823 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Tit. XVII "Crimes and Misdemeanors," Ch. 6 "An Act to amend an Act, entitled 'An Act to amend an Act, entitled 'An Act for the Punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors,''" p. 226 (amending the section on manslaughter; passed December 24, 1814).

Amendments of the Alabama Territory legislative body In 1817, U.S. Congress created the Alabama Territory when it divided the Mississippi Territory and admitted Mississippi into the union as a State."Alabama History Timeline." Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved May 29, 2019. The Legislative Council and House of Representatives of the Alabama Territory passed one amendment of the Act for the Punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors before Alabama became a State, but it did not change the language of the section prohibiting rape.1823 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Tit. XVII "Crimes and Misdemeanors," Ch. 9 "An Act to amend and alter the Laws for the Punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors," p. 229 (amending attorney referrals and talesmen; passed February 13, 1818).

1841 penal code After Alabama became a state in 1819,"Alabama History Timeline." Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved May 29, 2019. the Alabama Legislature did not change the language of the section of the Act for the Punishment of Crimes and Misdemeanors prohibiting rape until 1841.Although it did renumber the Act, as the section prohibiting rape changed from section 6 to section 7. 1833 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, p. 102 "Crimes and Misdemeanors," § 7. The Alabama Legislature did add a new section to the Act, stating that it is the "duty of the general assembly, as soon as circumstances will permit, to form a penal code...."1833 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, p. 102 "Crimes and Misdemeanors," § 1 (citing to Con. Ala. Art. 6, § 19 "Penal Code," found on p. xIii of the 1833 Digest).

In 1841, the General Assembly of Alabama considered Act No. 11, titled "An Act regulating punishments under the penitentiary system."1843 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, "List of the Statute Laws, of a Public and General Nature," p. 42. It was adopted as the penal code on January 9, 1841:"Be it enacted, &c. That, for the government and management of the penitentiary of this state, and to adapt our criminal proceedings and punishments to such system, the provisions...are hereby adopted and made of force, as a part of the laws of this state...."1843 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Penal Code, p. 396 "Adoption of the Penitentiary System," § 1.The 1841 Alabama Penal Code codified rape, removing the 1807 Act's sentence of death for those convicted:1843 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Penal Code, Ch. 3 "Of Offences Against the Person," p. 414, § 14, "Rape.""Any person, who shall commit the crime of rape and be convicted thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary for life." The 1841 Alabama Penal Code also added entirely new sections, defining rape of a (female) child less than ten years old as distinctive from rape of a female older than ten years, defining rape that involves drugging, and clarifying that penetration alone (not emission) is sufficient evidence of the crime. The 1841 Alabama Penal Code codified "carnal knowledge of woman above 10 years, by administering substance to produce stupor, &c.":1843 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Penal Code, Ch. 3 "Of Offences Against the Person," p. 414, § 15, "Carnal knowledge of a woman above 10 years, by administering substance to produce stupor, &c.""Every person, who shall have carnal knowledge of any woman above the age of ten years without her consent, by administering to her any substance, either solid or liquid, which shall produce such stupor, or such imbecility of mind, or weakness of body, as to prevent effectual resistance, shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary for life."The 1841 Alabama Penal Code codified "In prosecutions for rape, what sufficient":1843 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Penal Code, Ch. 3 "Of Offences Against the Person," p. 415, § 16, "In prosecutions for rape, what sufficient.""In prosecutions for rape, the act being shown to have been committed forcibly and against the consent of the woman, the proof of penetration shall be deemed sufficient evidence of the commission of the crime."The 1841 Alabama Penal Code codified "carnal knowledge of female under 10 years":1843 Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama, Penal Code, Ch. 3 "Of Offences Against the Person," p. 415, § 17, "Carnal knowledge of female under 10 years.""Every person, who shall carnally know, or abuse in the attempt to carnally know, any female child under the age of ten years, shall, on conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary for life."

Legislative history, 1852-1907 While 1841 brought the first Penal Code of Alabama, 1852 brought the first Code of Law for Alabama. From there, the Alabama Legislature continued to make significant revisions of its penal code, within the Code of Alabama, through to the new century.

Over the years, the Alabama Legislature added the death penalty back into many of its sections prohibiting rape. It also added, and ultimately removed, a punishment of hard labor, and clarified that the jury was responsible for determining the sentence of those convicted. A few new sections were added during this period of legislative history prohibiting the rape and attempted rape of a married woman by personating her husband. At the turn of the century, the Legislature also began to shift the age boundaries distinguishing a female child from an adult woman for the purposes of sentencing.

1852 Code of Alabama