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Appleseed’s reporting on Alabama’s prison crisis and our efforts to confront it

Incarcerating people as cheaply as possible created Alabama’s unconstitutional prisons. Let’s not make the same mistake again

Alabama prisons, Carla Crowder, Fair Schools, Safe Communities, News

By Carla Crowder, Executive Director A few weeks ago, a search dog working for Alabama’s Department of Corrections sadly died after exposure to contraband narcotics. ADOC leadership, including Commissioner Jefferson Dunn, gathered for…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Must Protect Consumers

Dana Sweeney, News, Other Issues

Photograph by Val Downes The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently solicited public comments related to their proposal to weaken protections for payday loan borrowers. An open letter submitted to the CFPB by Alabama Appleseed…

Passage of SB30: Ensuring Greater Access to Justice for Low-Income Alabamians

Access to Justice, Legislature 2019, Phillip Ensler

By Phillip Ensler, Appleseed Policy Counsel In 2014, a little boy drowned in an apartment swimming pool with no fence. His mother sued the owners but because of backlogs and barriers in the courts, she was denied. Alabama Appleseed…

Incarcerated people learn from their mistakes. The government that locks them up has not.

Alabama prisons, Carla Crowder, Fair Schools, Safe Communities, News

By Carla Crowder, Alabama Appleseed Executive Director Antonio was incarcerated at St. Clair prison a few years ago when another prisoner bit off part of his ear. They were housed in a dorm that supposedly offered rehabilitative services.…

How a couple lost everything because of $50 worth of marijuana, a Lunesta pill, and an overzealous drug task force armed with the power to seize their assets

Civil Asset Forfeiture, Fair Schools, Safe Communities, Leah Nelson

By Leah Nelson, Appleseed Researcher WOODLAND, Ala. (March 30, 2019) Teresa Almond is terrified. Though more than 13 months have passed since the day the Randolph County Drug Task Force upended her life with a flashbang grenade and a raid…

What last week’s SCOTUS ruling on excessive fines and fees could mean for Alabama

Advocacy News, Carla Crowder, Fines and Fees, Leah Nelson

Across Alabama, residents lose their jobs, housing, drivers’ licenses, and spend long stretches in jail because they cannot afford to pay court fines and fees. This week, a unanimous United States Supreme Court reminded states that this is…