By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher A recent report by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Council of State Governments (CSG) found that overall crime, including violent crime, across the U.S. and in Alabama, has been on the decline. The report’s findings undercut the pervasive narrative of surging crime used to frighten communities and support mass incarceration. But as […]
A bungled robbery in 1983 sent Lee Davis to prison on a life without parole sentence. Appleseed’s legal work brought him home. By Carla Crowder, Executive Director Lee Davis spent 39 years incarcerated for a robbery conviction in which no money was taken and no one was injured. At age 70, he is finally a […]
By Frederick Spight, Policy Director “Let us fight passionately and unrelenting for the goals of justice and peace, but let’s be sure that our hands are clean in this struggle. Let us never fight with falsehood and violence and hate and malice, but always fight with love…” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke these words […]
Alabama prison deaths reach record levels in 2022. The Department of Corrections’ response? Less reporting on deaths. By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher Eddie Richmond was 17 years old at the time of the robbery that led to his death sentence in the Alabama Department of Corrections. He was not sentenced to die; the United States […]
by Carla Crowder, Executive Director Willie Ingram, who served 39 years in prison after being convicted of a $20 robbery while armed with a pocketknife, celebrated his first Christmas and New Year’s Day as a free man. Mr. Ingram was originally sentenced to life imprisonment without parole under Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act; his priors […]
By Eddie Burkhalter and Leah Nelson Public outcry over the arrest of an 82-year-old Valley woman for $77 in unpaid garbage bills was swift, but records show the city has for decades arrested people over unpaid trash bills. Martha Menefield’s arrest three days after Thanksgiving, made international headlines. The charge against her was dropped […]
Centuria Olds (left) and Deaundra Leshawn Johnson, Jefferson County jail booking An Alabama Department of Corrections captain and former ADOC lieutenant each face multiple criminal charges related to smuggling contraband into Alabama prisons, but the small number of prison staff arrests is vastly outpaced by the deaths and violence caused by contraband pouring into […]
By Kathleen Henderson My name is Kathleen J. Henderson, and I am so honored to be able to join Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice as the new Re-entry Case Manager. I began my journey at Bevill State Community College. There, I gained the understanding that education is a way out of poverty and/or […]
By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher Alabamians are faced with competing narratives regarding crime and punishment. On one hand, Alabama’s prison system is brutal, broken, and fails to rehabilitate. On the other hand, some believe crime is on the rise and long prison sentences are the only answer. Because Appleseed believes that policy decisions must be […]
My name is Erin Nicole Smith and I am humbled to work at Alabama Appleseed as a Policy Extern. I am currently a 2L at The University of Alabama School of Law and am seeking opportunities to embrace social justice activism. I have a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and minored in Political Science from Oakwood […]
Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice
400 South Union Street, Suite 355
Montgomery, Alabama 36104
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Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: (205) 963-7999
admin@alabamaappleseed.org