Ankrom v. State

I respectfully dissent. This case turns on the construction of Ala.Code 1975, § 26-15-3.2, the “chemical-endangerment” statute. This Court is therefore governed by the fundamental rule of statutory construction regarding criminal statutes, i.e., that such statutes are to be construed narrowly to avoid criminalizing actions the legislature did not specifically intend to *432criminalize. A few of the many cases espousing this principle are Ex parte Theodorou, 53 So.3d 151 (Ala.2010); and Billingsley v. State, 115 So.3d 192 (Ala.Crim.App.2012). That this rule is fundamental is exemplified by the…