Entries by Carla Crowder

“It probably just says ‘Baby Boy.’” An Odyssey Through Reentry from Prison Without Access to a Birth Certificate

Late last year, Larry Garrett was released from Holman Correctional Facility after 38 years of incarceration. It would take more than four months, dozens of phone calls, multiple records requests, and loads of patience to secure the most basic document he needed to move on with his life – his birth certificate. Here is the […]

Why this report?

As victim’s rights week draws to a close, we would like to share a bit more about why we published Afterward, who we are, and what we hope will come next. By Leah Nelson, Research Director Alabama Appleseed has built a reputation for thoughtfully elevating issues at the intersection of poverty, racism, and mass incarceration […]

Linn’s Story

By Eddie Burkhalter, Researcher from the Appleseed report Afterward Bryttian Linn’s mother, Jamie Linn, made the call to the sheriff’s office to protect her children.  When the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived at their home, Jamie Linn hoped it would be the end of the death threats to her family from a man who said […]

Summer’s Story

By Leah Nelson, Research Director from the Appleseed report Afterward Summer Sturdivant, an activist and pastry chef from Selma, Ala., watched her little brother die. He lay in the street while the police captured the man who shot him. The ambulance made a wrong turn, doubled back, arrived when he was still alive but got […]

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Four Years After the U.S. Department of Justice Warning, Alabama’s Prisons Have Only Gotten Worse

State leaders promised to find an Alabama Solution to the “deeply humiliating” federal findings. But 698 incarcerated people have since died in state prisons, a new $1 billion prison will not open until 2026, and the federal trial is scheduled for next year.  By Eddie Burkhalter and Carla Crowder This week marks the fourth anniversary […]

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So far this year, someone has died every other day in an Alabama prison.

By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher  Alabama prison deaths are again surging, after state prisons saw a record high year of deaths in 2022.  At least eight men have died in Alabama prisons this month, following 12 deaths in February and 12 in January, although the actual numbers are likely higher. Those 32 deaths include three […]

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Appleseed’s 2023 legislative priorities: Evidence based priorities for a brighter way forward

By Frederick Spight, Policy Director and Elaine Burdeshaw, Policy Associate   As we look forward to the start of the 2023 legislative session, and the beginning of the Quadrennium, Appleseed plans to bring forth several legislative priorities. As is our custom, these initiatives are based on evidence and research that will advance the goals of […]

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Alabama leaders promised an automated, statewide victim notification system 15 years ago. We’re still waiting for it.

By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher   Politicians across Alabama expressed concern and outrage when victims were not notified in advance of planned releases of several hundred people from Alabama Department of Corrections custody last week. Those notifications didn’t happen because of underfunded, troubled victim notification systems and an unwillingness by an array of state leaders […]