Richard Shelby: “I believe it was in 1852, the Alabama Supreme Court decreed that there would be, in a wrongful death action, punitive…”

“I believe it was in 1852, the Alabama Supreme Court decreed that there would be, in a wrongful death action, punitive damages only, and that has worked in my State since 1852. That is one reason I oppose all of this legislation. Every State has different problems. Alabama, my State, is unique as far as measuring the wrongful death damages. They do it by punitive damages. It is not anything new. It goes back way over 100 years. But it has worked. It has worked for my State. This would only deal in wrongful death cases, nothing else. All we are asking the Senate to do is to preserve what we have and what we have had for over 100 years.”