Before asking for Bruce Pearson’s freedom, we sought input from the victim in his 1994 robbery. She was relieved to learn he had turned his life around and happy to support his release. As she put it: “people change over time, so if someone has done well in prison, why wouldn’t you give them a […]
By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher A 2021 law requiring enhanced reporting by the Alabama Department of Corrections has now produced a full year’s worth of data with detailed reporting on weapons, including firearms, at Alabama’s prisons. A total of nine firearms were confiscated by the Alabama Department of Corrections last year, one of which […]
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 […]
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 […]
By Leah Nelson, Research Director from the Appleseed report Afterward On a rainy Thursday in early March, Alabama Appleseed sat down in the offices of the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (¡HICA!) with 11 women who were victims of violent crime. Over tacos, we asked them to take our survey and invited them to talk […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
John Coleman served 34 years for offenses involving no physical injury under Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act. Now he’s free and experiencing kindness for the first time in way too long. By Carla Crowder, Executive Director “I’m 86 years old and all alone. Please don’t let me die in prison. I’m not ready to die […]
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 […]
Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice
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