Alabama Appleseed is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1999 whose mission is to achieve justice and equity for all Alabamians. Alabama Appleseed is a member of the national Appleseed Network, which includes 17 Appleseed Centers across the U.S. and in Mexico City. Below is a summary of the priority issues we worked on […]
Montgomery, AL – On May 23, Alabama Appleseed, joined by the National Appleseed and seven additional state Appleseed Centers, submitted a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) in response to an opportunity for public comment on 12 CFR 1005 Subpart B, the “Remittance Rule.” A derivative of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer […]
Eight times since 1976 the state of Alabama has sent a person to death row and gotten it wrong. One of those exonerees, Anthony Ray Hinton, spent almost 30 years on Alabama’s death row before his volunteer lawyers were able to show that the government relied on flawed evidence – that he was innocent. Mr. Hinton’s case […]
Montgomery, AL – The following statement is by Frank Knaack, executive director of Alabama Appleseed, regarding SB 187. “Eight times since 1976 Alabama has sent a person to death row and gotten it wrong. Yet, instead of focusing on ways to keep Alabama from making another potentially deadly mistake, the Alabama legislature voted to make Alabama’s […]
Montgomery, AL – Alabama Appleseed today applauded the Alabama Senate’s vote to “ban the box” (SB 200) on state employment applications. “Banning the box better ensures that Alabamians seeking state employment are judged on their merit, not their mistakes,” said Frank Knaack, executive director of Alabama Appleseed. “Denying a person’s application without considering their qualifications […]
Montgomery, AL – The following statement is by Frank Knaack, executive director of Alabama Appleseed regarding SB 187, which the Alabama House of Representatives Judiciary Committee favorably reported today: “Eight times in the modern death penalty era Alabama has sent a person to death row and gotten it wrong. Yet, instead of focusing on ways […]
SB 187 would set a 365‐day time limit to file a Rule 32 petition challenging an individual’s capital conviction and require this time to run concurrently with the direct appeal. It would also set other deadlines, requiring judges to rule within a specific time periods. It misses the underlying problem – Alabama’s capital punishment system […]
SB 200 ensures that the State of Alabama, its agencies, and its political subdivisions cannot ask a prospective employee if they have ever been arrested for or convicted of any crime, with certain exceptions. A state employer may ask a prospective employee about their criminal background, but only after a conditional offer of employment is […]
Montgomery, AL – The following statement is by Frank Knaack, executive director of Alabama Appleseed regarding SB 16, which was signed by Governor Kay Ivey today: We should all agree that if we have a death penalty then the process should be fair and accurate. SB 16 will help minimize unreliable and arbitrary death sentences […]
Today the Alabama House of Representatives passed SB 16, which will remove the power of a judge to override a jury’s sentencing verdict in capital cases. SB 16 will now move to the Governor for consideration. “Alabama is the only state in America that allows judges to override the vote of a jury and impose […]
Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice
400 South Union Street, Suite 355
Montgomery, Alabama 36104
2 Office Park Circle, Suite 10
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: (205) 963-7999
admin@alabamaappleseed.org