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Afterward

When violence occurs in Alabama, the state’s concept of justice leaves out many victims, survivors, and their communities. What would they say if we invited them to speak?

A report from Alabama Appleseed

Crime and punishment drive Alabama politics. Every time a major story about crime or violence or prisons breaks in the news, there is backlash from Alabama law enforcement and lawmakers calling for even more punitive measures in response. That backlash often provokes passionate responses from advocacy groups who point toward existing failures in our system of mass incarceration and raise concerns about the likely effects of making our justice system even harsher. 

Again and again, these groups square off and resume familiar arguments in an effort to wrestle with the problem, which never seems to go away. 

A few survivors’ voices occasionally rise to the surface. But the people who have the most power to create or change laws and policies in the wake of violence bear little resemblance to the people who are most harmed by it. Meanwhile, the cycle continues. 

Afterward is an effort to broaden the discourse and bring unheard voices into the conversation where they belong.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

  • 401

    Number of Alabama residents who were survivors of violent victimization or had lost loved one to violence who took our survey. We were intentional about surveying communities that are often excluded from conversations about what Alabamians want and need – and indeed about who we are.

  • 52%

    Percent of survey respondents who lost a loved one to homicide. Of those, more than half lost more than one loved one to homicide.

  • More than half

    The percentage of survivors who knew the person who had harmed them – usually as a family member, romantic partner, or from their neighborhood.

  • 53%

    Percent of survey respondents who agreed with the statement, “I never or almost never call the police in response to violence or crime that I experience.” Explaining why, many cited fear that calling the police would not keep them safe and sense that police would not want to help them.

  • 4 in 10

    Of our survey participants would like to see the person who hurt them have a chance to have their term of incarceration reduced if they improve themselves in prison.

HEAR FROM ALABAMIANS

“It’s a lot to bury a child and even be worried about where the money is coming from, then worry about whether you’re going to get to small claims court.… It just makes you feel like you’re on an island.” 

“He said ‘Ma’am, I’m gonna tell you, it’s a whole different ballgame down here … and being that you and your son just live together alone I’m going to tell you to get a pistol.’”

“When they find out you’re trans, it’s scary. Sometimes it’s so scary that you can’t even talk with anybody…. They look at us like the bottom of the food chain.”

“We feel more vulnerable as Hispanics, because they know that we’re scared to call the police.”

“Me being on both sides, I don’t trust the rehabilitation techniques of the state of Alabama. I’ve seen it dehabilitate people, if that’s a word.”

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REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

Afterward is intended to start a conversation – or many conversations – about what victims, survivors, and communities that experience high levels of violence need and want and create space for them to ask for it. It includes recommendations, but our primary recommendation to readers of this paper, including funders and people who have influence and access to power, is that they invest time and resources in the Alabama communities most impacted by violence. 

They are the experts. It is time to listen to their words.