By Scott Fuqua, Appleseed Legal Director A vigil was held on February 18th at the State Capitol to remember the people who have died in our prisons this decade. Most made mistakes that led to their incarceration. Most were suffering from addiction and were sentenced to a prison where hopelessness is endemic and drugs are more […]
By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher Stephanie Lewis stood in front of the Alabama State Capitol steps with hundreds of others on Wednesday and pleaded for the system that allowed her husband to die to change. “It has to change. I know his life was not in vain,” Mrs. Lewis said of her husband’s January death […]
Alabama Appleseed has been featured in the prestigious Chronicle of Philanthropy! Here’s what they’re saying: “In a state dominated by a Republican supermajority and long resistant to criminal-justice reform, Alabama Appleseed has become one of the South’s most unexpectedly effective advocacy groups.” The article traces Appleseed’s leap into legal and reentry services, beginning with the […]
An Appleseed-supported bill that would bring more fairness to the parole revocation process and help prevent unnecessary revocations that do not contribute to public safety has been filed in the Alabama Legislature. SB254, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, would give the parole board greater discretion when someone on parole is arrested for a minor […]
By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher More than six years after the State of Alabama was put on notice that its violent and dangerous prisons violate the United States Constitution, the death toll inside state prisons was nearly three times the national average. At least 202 people died inside Alabama prisons in 2025, Alabama Appleseed discovered […]
By Carla Crowder and Carl Green Carl Green learned how to provide emergency medical care to his fellow prisoners after they were beaten, stabbed, and cut inside Donaldson prison. Sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for a series of fast food restaurant robberies, Carl served 36 years in prison. No one counted exactly how many […]
By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher William Thomas was found hanging inside his segregation cell at St. Clair Correctional Facility on Aug. 7, 2023. Although he lived, he’s still fighting to get his life back from the severe brain injury that has robbed him of his speech and mobility. Though William eventually was released from the […]
By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher Stephanie Lewis on Thursday was fighting to learn more about how her husband died at Childersburg Work Release facility in Alpine on Wednesday. No one would tell her where his body was. And there were rumors that his death was the result of excessive force by officers. Rodrequis Woods, 42, […]
By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher Deborah Tolbert found her son slumped over on her garage floor. After Jonathan Tolbert survived an Alabama prison, where he was raped by several men, beaten and stabbed, the physical and psychological wounds persisted. He died at the age of 27. Jonathan Tolbert was only 18 when he tried heroin […]
By Carla Crowder, Executive Director Dear friends and supporters, Five years ago, Appleseed waded into the despair within Alabama’s prison system with a determination to confront unnecessary incarceration one life at a time. Today, we celebrate freedom for 30 people once condemned to life sentences. Not 30 cases. Not 30 wins. These are 30 people, […]
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