Grieving family left without answers after Alabama’s scandal-plagued Department of Corrections fails to investigate the cause of incarcerated man’s death and suspends some autopsies By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher In the hours after Alonzo Nathaniel Williamson died after being found in respiratory distress at Limestone Correctional Facility on May 8th, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) […]
By Elaine Burdeshaw, Appleseed Policy Associate This session certainly came with highs and lows; we experienced great wins and disappointing losses. At the start of the session Appleseed aimed to address the excessive sentences of individuals serving life without the possibility of parole for crimes that involved no physical injury, the lack of state funding […]
Michael Schumacher was supposed to die in prison. Now he’s a husband doing yard work, a grandpa rocking his grandson, and a valued hospital employee. By Michael “Shoe” Schumacher Live from New Jersey, April 9, 2024 –It’s hard to believe that it’s been 3 years since my release from the hotel after 36 years of […]
By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher It was five years ago today that the U.S. Department of Justice released a report detailing violations of the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment for incarcerated men in Alabama prisons, and since then more than 1,000 people have died in state prison custody. The Alabama Legislature’s Joint […]
Turning memories into art with people who have lost loved ones to violence By Leah Nelson, Research Director Alabama Appleseed spent much of 2022 and 2023 traveling the state and talking with victims of violent crime. We focused on people from communities that are disproportionately affected by violence but whose voices are not usually centered […]
By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher Alabama’s prison staffing crisis has an outsized role in the violence and record number of deaths seen across the state’s prisons, most everyone agrees. New data obtained by Appleseed shows yet another reason prison staffing remains dangerously low: the large number of terminated prison employees – 366 Department of Corrections […]
The Birmingham Re-entry Alliance is an innovative, collaborative reentry support and case management system for individuals returning to Birmingham following incarceration in state prison. Our network will combine the necessary services for some of Alabama’s most marginalized people – indigent, formerly incarcerated people with felony records – to thrive following incarceration. The organizations involved have […]
My name is Alana C. Nichols and it is with immense excitement and gratitude that I announce an internship with Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. I am currently a third year Internal Medicine and Pediatrics resident at University of Alabama at Birmingham. Additionally, I hold a juris doctorate from Georgia State University College […]
by Elaine Burdeshaw, Policy Associate It’s no secret that Alabama is facing serious problems in our prisons and criminal justice system. In 2023 alone, 325 people died in Alabama Department of Corrections custody– making our prison mortality rate the highest in the nation and five times the national average. We face outdated laws and excessive […]
by Eddie Burkhalter, Researcher Alabama prisons in 2023 saw record high deaths for a second straight year, a grim reminder that the Alabama Department of Corrections is incapable of protecting incarcerated people from drugs, violence and death. Last year, 325 people died in Alabama prisons, the Alabama Department of Corrections confirmed for Appleseed. This total […]
Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice
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