Code of Alabama
Ala. Code § 12-21-223 (2026)
Discharged Codefendant as Witness for Prosecution.
✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
When two or more defendants are jointly indicted, the court may, at any time before the evidence for the defense has commenced, order any defendant to be discharged from the indictment in order that he may be a witness for the prosecution, and such order operates as an acquittal of such defendant, provided he does testify.
(Code 1852, §639; Code 1867, §4191; Code 1876, §4893; Code 1886, §4477; Code 1896, §5301; Code 1907, §7898; Code 1923, §5636; Code 1940, T. 15, §308.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2
cases, 1978–1990 · leading case: Gipson v. State, 375 So. 2d 504 (Ala. Crim. App. 1978).
Gipson v. State, 375 So. 2d 504 (Ala. Crim. App. 1978). “Some of those situations are listed below: Witnesses appearing before the grand jury concerning liquor violations, Code of Alabama (1975), Section 28-4-318; witnesses appearing before the grand jury concerning gaming and lottery cases, Code of Alabama (1975), Section 13-7-29;…”
Johnson v. State, 578 So. 2d 681 (Ala. 1990). “Johnson’s main contention is that the court incorrectly held that Ala. Code 1975, § 12-21-223, did not bar the admission of testimony of a jointly indicted co-defendant.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
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treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.