(a)(1) A person is guilty of criminal solicitation if, with the intent that another person engage in conduct constituting a crime, he or she solicits, requests, commands or importunes another person to engage in such conduct.
(2) A person may not be convicted of criminal solicitation upon the uncorroborated testimony of the person allegedly solicited, and there must be proof of circumstances corroborating both the solicitation and the defendant’s intent.
(b) A person is not liable under this section if, under circumstances manifesting a voluntary and complete renunciation of his or her criminal intent, he or she (1) notified the person solicited of his or her renunciation and (2) gave timely and adequate warning to the law enforcement authorities or otherwise made a substantial effort to prevent the commission of the criminal conduct solicited. The burden of injecting this issue is on the defendant, but this does not shift the burden of proof.
(c) A person is not liable under this section when his or her solicitation constitutes conduct of a kind that is necessarily incidental to the commission of the offense solicited. When the solicitation constitutes an offense other than criminal solicitation that is related to but separate from the offense solicited, the defendant is guilty of the related offense only and not of criminal solicitation.
(d) It is no defense to a prosecution for criminal solicitation that the person solicited could not be guilty of the offense solicited because of any of the following:
(1) Criminal irresponsibility or other legal incapacity or exemption.
(2) Unawareness of the criminal nature of the conduct solicited or of the defendant’s criminal purpose.
(3) Any other factor precluding the mental state required for the commission of the offense in question.
(e) It is no defense to a prosecution for criminal solicitation that the defendant belongs to a class of persons who by definition are legally incapable in an individual capacity of committing the offense that he or she solicited another to commit.
(f) Criminal solicitation is a:
(1) Class A felony if the offense solicited is murder.
(2) Class B felony if the offense solicited is a Class A felony.
(3) Class C felony if the offense solicited is a Class B felony.
(4) Class D felony if the offense solicited is a Class C felony.
(5) Class A misdemeanor if the offense solicited is a Class D felony.
(6) Class B misdemeanor if the offense solicited is a Class A misdemeanor.
(7) Class C misdemeanor if the offense solicited is a Class B misdemeanor.
(8) Violation if the offense solicited is a Class C misdemeanor.
(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §1001; Act 2023-461, §1.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
16
cases (
3 in the last 5 years), 1982–2025 · leading case:
Skinner v. State, 843 So. 2d 820 (Ala. Crim. App. 2002).
Skinner v. State, 843 So. 2d 820 (Ala. Crim. App. 2002).
· cites it 6× “See also Commentary to § 13A-4-1, Ala.Code 1975 ("[F]requently solicitation accompanied by some overt act on the part of defendant may equate an attempt.”
Ex Parte Coker, 575 So. 2d 43 (Ala. 1991).
“Offenses Involving Damage to and Intrusion upon Property, §§ 13A-7-1 through 13A-7-61.”
Commonwealth v. Barsell, 678 N.E.2d 143 (Mass. 1997).
· cites it 2× “, Ala. Code § 13A-4-1 (1994) (criminal solicitation if a person solicits another to “engage in conduct constituting a crime”); Ariz.”
People v. Shafou, 330 N.W.2d 647 (Mich. 1982).
· cites it 2× “…stopped short of that stage, he could be imprisoned for not more than 5 years. MCL 750.92(2); MSA 28.287(2). 41 See Ala Code § 13A-4-1; Alaska Stat § 11.31.110; Ariz Rev Stat Ann §§ 13-1002, 13-1005; Ark Stat Ann §§ 41-705, 41-706; Colo Rev Stat §§ 18-2-101, 18-2-301; Fla…”
State v. L.N.A., 811 So. 2d 637 (Ala. Crim. App. 2001).
· cites it 2× “’ “The statutory sections to which the above portion of the 1987 act refer, §§ 13A-4-1 and 5, Code of Alabama 1975, were both previously codified laws (i.”
Gay Lesbian Bisexual All. v. Sessions, 917 F. Supp. 1548 (M.D. Ala. 1996).
· cites it 2× “The defendants seek to equate § 16-1-28 with inchoate criminal statutes — for example, Alabama Code 1975 § 13A-4-1 (Michie 1994) (criminal solicitation), § 13A-4-2 (attempt), § 13A-4-3 (criminal conspiracy).”
Gay Lesbian Bisexual All. v. Sessions, 917 F. Supp. 1558 (M.D. Ala. 1996).
· cites it 2× “The Attorney General contends that a group which violated the state criminal statutes, including its inchoate statutes (for example, Ala.Code 1975 § 13A-4-1 (Michie 1994) (criminal solicitation), § 13A-4-2 (attempt), § 13A-4-3 (criminal conspiracy)), should not be entitled to…”
Pope v. State, 587 So. 2d 1278 (Ala. Crim. App. 1991).
· cites it 3× “Pope, was convicted of the crime of criminal solicitation of murder under § 13A-4-1, Code of Alabama 1975, and was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment.”
State v. LNA, 811 So. 2d 637 (Ala. Crim. App. 2001).
· cites it 6× “' "The statutory sections to which the above portion of the 1987 act refer, §§ 13A-4-1 and 5, Code of Alabama 1975, were both previously codified laws (i.”
State v. Duboise, 675 So. 2d 420 (Ala. 1996).
· cites it 3× “On May 23, 1995, Duboise was arrested by an investigator for the Franklin County district attorney’s office and charged with criminal solicitation, in violation of § 13A-4-1, Ala.Code, 1975. The events relating to this charge were highly publicized in Franklin County, because…”
Southerland v. State, 471 So. 2d 522 (Ala. Crim. App. 1985).
“Section 13A-4-5 states in part: “(a) It is no defense to a prosecution for criminal solicitation, section 13A-4-1, attempt, section 13A-4-2, or criminal conspiracy, section 13A-4-3, that the offense solicited, attempted or conspired was actually committed.”
Lee v. State, 540 So. 2d 802 (Ala. Crim. App. 1988).
· cites it 2× “Although complete and voluntary abandonment is a defense to the crime of attempt, § 13A-4-2(c), “A renunciation is not voluntary and complete if motivated by a belief that circumstances exist which increase the probability of detection or apprehension of the defendant_”…”
— Ala. Code § 13A-4-1(a) — 2 cases
State v. LNA, 811 So. 2d 637 (Ala. Crim. App. 2001).
“' "The statutory sections to which the above portion of the 1987 act refer, §§ 13A-4-1 and 5, Code of Alabama 1975, were both previously codified laws (i.”
— Ala. Code § 13A-4-1(a)(1) — 1 case
— Ala. Code § 13A-4-1(b)(1) — 1 case
— Ala. Code § 13A-4-1(b)(e) — 1 case
State v. LNA, 811 So. 2d 637 (Ala. Crim. App. 2001).
“' "The statutory sections to which the above portion of the 1987 act refer, §§ 13A-4-1 and 5, Code of Alabama 1975, were both previously codified laws (i.”
— Ala. Code § 13A-4-1(c) — 1 case
Skinner v. State, 843 So. 2d 820 (Ala. Crim. App. 2002).
“See also Commentary to § 13A-4-1, Ala.Code 1975 ("[F]requently solicitation accompanied by some overt act on the part of defendant may equate an attempt.”
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