Freed from prison and burdened with cancer, but finding his voice in songs

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James Jones was one of the first people in the state to be sentenced to life without parole under the Habitual Felony Offender Act. He is also a music lover, a story teller, and a beloved mentor to dozens of incarcerated people. Finally released after 43 years, now he just wants to live. And maybe record a little music.

By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher

James Jones walked into the nearly empty waiting room at his Birmingham oncologist’s office on April 1 and saw a man seated by himself.  “How are you?” Mr. Jones asked the man, who responded politely. Talking to strangers in quiet rooms changes the atmosphere for the better, Mr. Jones explained, especially in places where people feel frightened and alone. 

Mr. Jones was diagnosed with cancer just before he was released from St. Clair Correctional Facility last December. The disease that threatens his life also sped up his release. One of the first people in the state to be sentenced to a mandatory sentence of life without parole under the Habitual Felony Offender Act in 1981, Mr. Jones spent 43 years in prison following a robbery at a North Birmingham shoe store. 

Appleseed was investigating his case when we learned of his sudden cancer diagnosis. We developed a post-conviction petition seeking his release then quickly gained support from Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr. Within a week, Mr. Jones was home.

At 77-years old with a multiple myeloma diagnosis, James Jones is brightening the atmosphere in dim places around the city and quietly showing everyone who comes into his orbit that it should not have taken cancer to set him free.

Appleseed Researcher Eddie Burkhalter and James Jones visit during a picnic at Railroad Park.

Three tumors and no spare parts

On that April day in his doctor’s office, Mr. Jones would learn the extent of the spread of the cancer and how his doctor planned to treat it. 

“Multiple myeloma is a malignancy of the plasma cells. Those are the blood cells in your body that form antibodies, and your bone marrow has no idea when to stop. When that happens, your bones start being eaten away by the plasma cells and in places you can form actual masses, which are called plasmacytomas, meaning a tumor plasma cell,” his doctor told him. 

The doctor explained that Mr. Jones has three tumors: Two on his spine that are an inch-and-a-half and an inch in size, and a third on his seventh rib of almost two inches. Radiation can shrink specific tumors and relieve pain, but overdoing radiation treatments can do more damage than good, she explained, so his treatment would include chemotherapy and three medications. To start, he’ll have weekly injections at the doctor’s office. 

His doctor pulled down the bedroll made of smooth paper and began to write down the medications she planned to prescribe him and how those drugs might affect his body, side effects that can range from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation to immunosuppression, tingling in his limbs and fatigue. 

“It’s quite a bit, doc,” Mr. Jones told his doctor. 

“I know. I’m sorry. It will be a little bit disconcerting at the beginning, but once you are on cruise control it will be like coming in for a tune up,” the doctor said. 

“I can’t get any spare parts so I’ve got to deal with the ones I’ve got,” Mr. Jones responded. 

The doctor explained the timeline to begin his treatments and asked if he had any questions. 

“Got anything for a broken heart?,” Mr. Jones asked her. 

“I got nothing, but if you find something let me know,” she said. 

Before his release 4 months ago, Mr. Jones was among the growing number of older incarcerated people in Alabama’s prisons. In 2005, there were 2,879 prisoners ages 51 and older, comprising 11% of all people in ADOC custody. By 2025, the number had grown to 7,675. People 50 and older are the costliest to imprison due to the cost of medical care and the least likely to reoffend once released. Mr. Jones is one of three older formerly incarcerated men Appleseed freed from life without the possibility of parole sentences who are being treated for cancer. 

James Jones and his longtime friend Norman Askew, who has worked in the Jefferson County courts for years mentoring individuals and assisting with community corrections services.

After the doctor’s visit, on the ride back to his brother’s home in Powderly where he’s lived since leaving prison, Mr. Jones talked about life inside Alabama’s deadly prisons, where access to medical care is sparse and the threats to one’s life are myriad. He explained the importance of not owing anyone anything in prison and of staying away from the drugs that drive much of the violence and death inside. He talked about what it’s like to live free after so many decades locked away, of coming to terms with the loss of those many years.  “I tell people that once I got out it didn’t feel like I was gone all that long,” he shared. It’s only when he sees someone who he knew as a child before he was incarcerated and who’s now grown and with children of their own that the enormity of those years locked away becomes apparent. 

Mr. Jones knows another man who is facing a cancer diagnosis, and says the disease has changed the man, and turned him angry and bitter. Mr. Jones doesn’t hold those same feelings about his diagnosis, but the weight of the disease is taking its toll. 

“My sister-in-law thought I was beginning to be hopeless,” Mr. Jones said. “I told her, I think I’m dying.” She encouraged him not to give up hope. “To be chronically ill is something to deal with. I can empathize with others, but when it’s me…,” Mr. Jones said. “Sometimes I say to myself, could this really be it?” 

“Being incarcerated for so long, there are things I wanted to do but most of my productive years were in prison, then when I get out now I’ve got this in my back,” Mr. Jones said. He doesn’t tell many people that he has cancer and said it is his faith in God that sustains him. 

Making music, finding hope

There are still things he wants to do. He’s never ridden in an airplane, and pondered what it would be like to go skydiving. He’d also like to record his own songs, pages of lyrics he penned while incarcerated and seeking a creative outlet. With the help of Appleseed reentry case manager Kathleen Henderson and her son, Alabama musician Ritch Henderson, Mr. Jones has begun the process of doing just that.  A Montgomery music studio, The Alabama Sound Company, and owner Brett Robison are graciously allowing the use of the studio and offering recording services at no cost to help make Mr. Jones’s dream come true. 

“We’re still working on it. Those guys are good,” Mr. Jones said of the musicians working to help get his songs recorded. He’s enjoying moments of collaboration as a singer and a writer, not just an ex-con fighting cancer. 

Mr. Jones loves music from across genres. Chris Stapleton, Elton John, and Ray Charles are favorites. “Every time you hear a clip by Elton John you’re really listening to Bernie Taupin,” Mr Jones said of Elton John’s longtime collaborator, Taupin, who co-wrote most of the British singer’s hits. 

Mr. Jones traveled to a recording studio in Montgomery with Mr. Henderson and his crew, and on another trip the group sang in Pine Torch Church, built in 1850, in the Bankhead National Forest near Decatur. “Once you go in and close the doors the acoustics are so good. We just did one song that we’re really working on. I tell people, once I get real big I might act like I don’t know you,” Mr. Jones said with a laugh. 

It would be easy to spend his days angry over his cancer diagnosis, but It’s not in his nature to wake up each day and let his plight get him down. “Even if I’ve just got tomorrow, I’ll be OK,” Mr. Jones said. “I like people, and I’m always optimistic. Sometimes I ask, Lord, why me? Why not you, James? You’re not the only one. There will be some more behind you.”

Sometimes pain and hardships make you take a better view of life, he said. Then he found a metaphor in nature because he’s a storyteller and that’s how he communicates. 

Musician Ritch Henderson and James Jones following a recording session at the Bankhead National Forest.

“The funny thing about a cocoon. When a butterfly is in there there’s a very tiny hole that appears at the end of it, and he can just barely get his head out, and then he’s struggling with that little hole and if you sit down and watch him and you begin to empathize with him and you go over and crack that thing and let him out, he’ll never fly,” Mr. Jones said. “Because that struggle strengthens his wings.” 

Mr. Jones said that before he left prison one man whom he knew for many years told him  “there’s a lot of guys in here that are happier than even you are that you’re going home.” Mr. Jones worries about those close friends he left behind. “Some of them I took under my wings. They’re my sons,” he said. In prison, everyone knew him as “Honkytonk” for reasons that still aren’t entirely clear to those of us on the outside.

“I hope … I leave a legacy, not just of being an ex-con who spent so many years in prison, but of how I look at life and how I’ve treated people.”

Before checking out of his oncologist’s office that April day he listened as an older woman standing in front of him told the person behind the desk that she’d just had cataract surgery and couldn’t see very well. Moments later, standing in front of the elevator to leave, Mr. Jones approached the stranger and offered his support. He had the same surgery years ago. 

“Once your eyes heal you’ll start to see better,” Mr. Jones told her, and the two talked about her surgery and her concerns. He listened carefully and weighed in with thoughtful words. A man who spent 43 years of a life without the possibility of parole sentence stood in the hallway of the doctor’s office and tried to make a stranger feel a little better on what was a bad day for her. 

“People need to vent like that…she probably won’t forget that encounter either,” Mr. Jones said. “I hope that my life has been impactful for some. That I leave a legacy, not just of being an ex-con who spent so many years in prison, but of how I look at life and how I’ve treated people.” 

 

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Survivors of Gun Violence Gather to Share Stories, Search for Solutions, and Seek Compensation

By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher

Aswad Thomas, vice president of Alliance for Safety and Justice and national director at Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, speaking at Saturday’s event.

Montgomery – Alabama Appleseed took part in the “Right to Heal: Access to Victim Compensation” event held recently at The Sanctuary at the Jubilee Center in Montgomery, where a room full of attendees learned about the state’s crime victim compensation program and told stories about their own struggles, and successes, in getting that critical aid. 

Aieda Harris, whose son, Edward Reeves, was killed in 2017, described the devastating impact her son’s death had on her and her family. 

“We didn’t have anybody to stand up for us,” Harris said. Her young grandson needed counseling to help cope with his father’s death, but received none, she said. 

Still others described good experiences with Alabama’s crime victim compensation program, including Elizabeth Hall, who said after her grandson’s death her family was later reimbursed by the program for the funeral expenses. 

Deanthony Vickers Sr., whose 14-year-old son, Deanthony Vickers Jr., was shot and killed in Montgomery in 2022, said Alabama’s program took care of the funeral expenses and sent a letter of condolence, for which his family was grateful. 

Seated across the room while Mr. Vickers Sr. spoke was Everette Johnson, who was appointed as the executive director of the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission in April 2023. Several in attendance at Saturday’s event noted positive changes in the state’s program since his appointment. Johnson made it a goal of his to reduce the backlog of applicants to the program, some of whom had been waiting for more than a year to learn whether they’d receive compensation. 

Mr. Johnson listened closely to the speakers as they told of their own experiences coping with the aftermath of the death of loved ones and navigating the process of getting that aid. 

Callie Greer, Appleseed’s community navigator, near the start of the event spoke of her own son, Mercury Colley, who died just before he was to turn 21. 

“My son was shot and died from those gunshot wounds about two blocks over,” Ms. Greer said. 

Ms. Greer and Elliot Spillers, advocacy director for Appleseed, were among the thousands who traveled to Washington D.C. in September 2024 for the Crime Survivors Speak March on Washington, including 10 Alabamians impacted by violence here. 

Accessing compensation after becoming the victim of a crime is even more difficult for many in the Hispanic community, explained Veronica Ayala, community organizer for Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice. Many in her community do not report when they’ve been victims of crime for fear about their immigration status, and the language barrier itself can make applying for the aid difficult even if they report being the victim of a crime. 

“For us, as immigrants, we don’t know this program exists, or we don’t have access to it,” Ayala said through an interpreter. 

Aswad Thomas, vice president of Alliance for Safety and Justice and national director at Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, spoke of his own experience as the victim of gun violence. 

“I was shot twice in my back leaving a corner store in my neighborhood,” Thomas said, explaining that the shooting ended his professional basketball career and spurred his work to help victims of crime. 

“I was prepared for the physical challenges,” Mr. Thomas said of the shooting, but he wasn’t equipped for the psychological impacts the shooting had on him. His father and a brother are also both victims of shootings, and neither received support from services that could have helped them, he said. 

Mr. Thomas said the physician who was performing the surgery to remove a bullet from his body was the same doctor who had treated the young man who shot Mr. Thomas after his own shooting. 

“What would it look like had he got those resources?” Mr. Thomas asked about the young man who shot him. “Maybe I wouldn’t have gotten shot.” 

Appleseed was joined in Saturday’s event by Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, the City of Montgomery’s Office of Violence Prevention, Peacemakers Community Victim Response Team, Freedom Farm Azul, Family Guidance Center of Alabama, MAAVIS and Faith in Action Alabama.

 

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Appleseed Welcomes Executive Assistant Keely Sutton

By Keely Sutton

My name is Keely Sutton and I am delighted to be Carla’s new Executive Assistant at Alabama Appleseed. For years I have used Appleseed’s reports and succinct summaries of important social justice issues in Alabama—mass incarceration, economic justice, racial justice, and government accountability—as jumping off points for deeper explorations into intersecting issues like poverty, race, gender, education, and religion.

I have always been interested in the forces that can both drive people together and separate them. Because of this, I chose as a lens to examine these issues one of the arguably strongest forces: religion. Specifically, interreligious dialogue, cooperation, and conflict.

I began my studies with a BA from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, where I studied a variety of religions and philosophical viewpoints. Later, I went to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC for an MA in Religion. It was there that a professor told me to “follow my bliss” (a quote from popular author Joseph Campbell) and so I went to Austin, Texas to get a doctorate in Asian Cultures and Languages from the University of Texas at Austin. There, I focused on the south Indian state of Kerala, where Christians, Jews, Hindus, and Muslims had lived and worked side-by-side for centuries.

Keely with friends during her studies in India

I traveled to India multiple times for research, to learn languages, to study and translate literature. I saw supportive communities. I saw divided communities. I saw the effects of caste. I saw the effects of colonialism. I saw religious cooperation and (sometimes) conflict. I fell in love with India and its people.

In 2015 I was hired as a professor of religion at Birmingham-Southern College. In 2017, I became the director of the Poverty Studies program. In that role, I taught about the intersections between religion and social justice, and I worked with students in the program who did internships and projects centered on issues like disparities within healthcare, the legal system, religion, food deserts, and local Birmingham advocacy groups and efforts.

When Birmingham-Southern closed in 2024, a little part of me died with it. But it was not a surprise, exactly, because we had been fighting to survive for years. Towards the end of that period, while I loved teaching, I decided that I would probably not continue my academic career as a professor. I wanted to do something different, to engage in a more direct way with the efforts that I taught about and the issues that I had discussed in the classroom.

Besides, by then I had spent a lot of time thinking about and teaching about issues specific to the south and Alabama. I saw supportive communities. I saw divided communities. I saw the effects of race and class. I saw religious cooperation and (sometimes) conflict. I had made Alabama my second home.

Keely taught for a decade at Birmingham-Southern College, including as Director of Poverty Studies

I am proud to contribute meaningfully to the organization that I admired for so long. Alabama Appleseed uses a holistic approach to address inequality in Alabama: they combine research, community organizing, education, coalition building, litigation, and care of individuals. Alabama Appleseed does good work. I look forward to contributing to its efforts to make Alabama a better, more just place for people of all backgrounds to live and flourish.

 

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Welcome home James Jones! Appleseed’s 20th client – and longest serving – is freed from a life without parole sentence.

By Scott Fuqua, Appleseed Staff Attorney

On December 18, 2024, James Jones, age 77, walked out of the St. Clair Correctional Facility a free man after being incarcerated for forty-three years. He was serving a life without parole sentence which, absent extraordinary relief, would have required him to remain in prison until death for the robbery of a shoe store where no one was injured. Instead of dying in prison, James was home for the holidays with his family thanks to Jefferson County’s elected officials who believe in second chances. 

Appleseed Attorney Scott Fuqua and James Jones leaving St. Clair Correctional Facility on James’ release day.

Out of the 20 Appleseed clients who have been released on life without parole sentences to date, James was in prison the longest. His remarkable institutional record made it clear decades ago that he had learned from his mistake and turned his life around. While in prison, James earned a college degree and completed countless courses for self-improvement. He worked for decades in the trade school helping other inmates learn job skills to enhance their ability to earn a living after their release. For many years, James also taught a GED class where he tirelessly sought to help others make up for the fact they did not finish high school. Despite the fact he had no reason to believe he would ever draw a breath of free air again, James dedicated his time to helping others learn so that they might have a better life once they regained their freedom. 

On my first visit to see James at St. Clair, he recounted a story that provided insight into his character and how he had chosen to spend his time in prison. One day when he was in the exercise yard, he saw a new inmate near a fence. James said he made a point to try and speak to the new inmates whenever possible to try and impart wisdom on how to survive amidst the chaos and despair which can be overwhelming for men that just arrived. After James walked over, he found the young man desperately trying to pry a piece of barbed wire loose from the fence. James told him to stop and asked him why he was doing that. The young man said he needed the barbed wire for a weapon he was making to defend himself. James told him that he had been there for forty years and he had learned how to navigate the dangers of prison without a weapon. If the young man would stop, James said he would show him that there was another path inside the walls of prison that did not require violence. The young man turned and went back to his task of trying to pull the barbed wire free. James sighed and said he wished he could have saved him. Then his face brightened and said he would always try to intervene when he saw an opportunity and that he was proud of the fact he had helped save a number of people from falling into the cycle of violence. He closed by saying he hoped he could save one more. 

Legal assistants Mary Parker and Tayler Walton welcomed James into his new life of freedom after 43 years of incarceration.

Despite decades of exemplary behavior, James’ sentence under Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act would have required him to remain incarcerated until death absent extraordinary relief. Thankfully, Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr closely reviewed Mr. Jones’ case and supported a Petition filed by Appleseed to resentence James to time served. Jefferson County is also fortunate to have many fair-minded judges, like Presiding Criminal Circuit Judge Michael Streety, who also believe in second chances for those who have earned them. Judge Streety considered all of the facts of the case along with James’s exemplary institutional record and resentenced him. In Jefferson County, hope is alive for people serving life without parole sentences. 

A bill currently pending in the Alabama Legislature, the Second Chance Act, would extend that same hope to many others currently serving life without parole for offenses similar to James’ where no one was physically injured. If the Second Chance Act passes, those currently serving sentences that will require them to remain in prison until death will no longer need extraordinary relief for a Judge to have the opportunity to review the facts of their case and institutional record to determine whether they are deserving of another opportunity for freedom. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey recently endorsed the bill in her State of the State speech, as part of a wider public safety effort.

On the day of his release, James’ brother, Clarence Jones, was waiting for him at Appleseed’s office. Throughout decades of incarceration, James and Clarence had always remained close. James was fortunate to have Clarence as the leader of a support system that ensured he never felt like he was alone and forgotten in prison. Clarence had a guest room at his house ready for James where he has been welcomed to reside for as long as he needs. Forty-three years of separation was not enough to break their bond as brothers. 

Appleseed reentry team, Ronald McKeithen, Kathleen Henderson and Ingrid Patrick, surround James Jones with support.

While James’ family welcomes him back into their lives, Appleseed’s reentry team is dedicated to making sure James has the resources he needs to thrive outside of prison. They have secured Social Security, medical care, a bank account, and connections with peer support. Thanks to our team, he does not have to figure out this new world alone.  

James also had another influential advocate working on his behalf, Norman Askew. Norman and James were friends growing up in the Southside neighborhood of Birmingham. Through decades working for the UAB TASC Community Corrections Program, Norman became widely respected in the Jefferson County legal community. He met with those charged with crimes and offered to speak on their behalf if they were a candidate for the TASC program. More times than not, decision makers listened and Norman’s advocacy helped the person avoid going to prison. As a defense attorney, I would often ask Norman to meet with clients even if they were not a candidate for TASC. No one has a better ability to convince a young man facing felony charges to reconsider the choices that brought them to court. 

After my first visit to see James, he asked me to call his friend Norman. I told him that I was thrilled to hear he already had a more influential advocate on his side than I could ever hope to be. From that point forward, I kept Norman updated on the progress of James’ case. I have no doubt Norman was working behind the scenes to pave the way for James to freedom.

The week after his release, James came by our office to visit. His quiet manner of speaking and sense of humor are captivating. He recounted stories from his decades in prison and shared his wide-ranging thoughts on how our criminal justice system could be improved. Few people alive have as much personal experience of how the system works, or more often, fails. Few have spent more time trying to help those struggling to navigate the perils of life in prison and prepare for a better life on the outside. None are more deserving of the second chance at freedom he is now enjoying. 

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Welcome Legal Extern Joe Manasco

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My name is Joe Manasco. I will be an extern this semester at Alabama Appleseed,
assisting with legal research. I am a proud Alabamian (I call both Huntsville and Jasper
my hometowns) and a 2L at Georgetown Law.

Growing up, I didn’t have many opportunities to travel— so Alabama was all I knew.
Despite having nothing to compare it to, I always believed there was something unique about our state. It amazes me that, somehow, there’s enough room in Alabama’s heart to hold deep love and kindness alongside an equally deep desire for cruelty and anger. I am fascinated by how that dynamic has molded Alabama’s past. I want to do my part to ensure that Alabama acts only on the good parts of its heart in the future.

After graduating high school, I knew I wanted to do something to help people, so I decided to become a preacher. While I pursued my ministry degree, and for a brief time after graduation, I worked as a youth minister in Tennessee. Following that, I preached at a church back home in Alabama. During that time, I started hearing about the deaths and ongoing despair in ADOC prisons. I began reading books that highlighted racial and other social injustices that infect our criminal legal system. I thought about heroes like Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rep. John Lewis, standing against injustice no matter the cost. I reflected on my struggles growing up in Alabama. I noticed that certain principles held deeply by myself and many other Alabamians— love, mercy, compassion, and justice—were often painfully absent from our state policy generally and criminal justice policy especially.

All these factors inspired me to go to law school and ultimately led me to Alabama Appleseed. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a small part of an organization that preserves hope for Alabama’s future and works diligently to improve Alabama today.

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Death toll inside Alabama prisons reaches 277 in 2024

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By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher

Deandre Roney died June 9, 2024, after being stabbed at Donaldson Prison.

 

There were 277 deaths in Alabama prisons in 2024, a slight decline from the record high 325 from the previous year, but the state’s prison deaths remain more than four times the national average. Appleseed obtained last year’s death count through a records request to the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC). 

Although the official count from ADOC puts last year’s deaths at 277, the actual number could be higher. Appleseed’s records request to ADOC last year seeking the names and dates of death for those incarcerated persons who died in 2023 produced a list that included 325 deaths, which was a record high, but subsequent records requests to the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, which collected in custody death data from ADOC for submission to the federal government, and ADOC’s own quarterly reports, included deaths that were not identified in the 325 supplied to Appleseed by ADOC. Appleseed is working to clarify the actual number of deaths in 2023. 

Alabama’s prisoner mortality rate is 1,358 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with a national average across state prisons of 330 deaths per 100,000, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The large numbers of deaths last year only add to the tally of deaths since the federal government put Alabama on notice. There have been 1,322 deaths in Alabama prisons from the April 2019 release of the U.S. Department of Justice’s report detailing the horrific violence and unconstitutionally dangerous conditions in the state’s prisons through the end of last year. 

The federal government in December 2020 sued the state and the Department of Corrections alleging that the state “fails to provide adequate protection from prisoner-on-prisoner violence and prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse, fails to provide safe and sanitary conditions, and subjects prisoners to excessive force at the hands of prison staff.” The state has paid private, contract attorneys more than $20 million to defend these conditions and the trial has been pushed until April, 2026.

These deaths take a toll on families across the state, devastating parents, siblings, and others who held out hope that their incarcerated loved ones would someday be free and home with them. The following are just a few of the many deaths we’ve learned about this year:

 

Klifton Adam Bond (source Facebook)

The fourth person to die in 2024 was Klifton Adam Bond, 38, who was found dead in his cell at St. Clair Correctional Facility on Jan. 4, 2024. Mr. Bond was attacked on Nov. 6, 2023 at Donaldson Correctional Facility and remained in a hospital intensive care unit for 12 days, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of his mother. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joshua Hamer with his son Joey (photo courtesy of his family)

A more recent death was that of Joshua Hamer, a 41-year-old father who was beaten to death in November. He’d been incarcerated on a probation violation stemming from an 8-year-old theft conviction for not returning Redbox rental movies and video game disks in 2016, according to court records. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chase Mathis died inside Elmore Correctional Facility on June 4 in the minutes after his father last spoke to him by phone.

Chase Mathis died inside Elmore Correctional Facility on June 4, 2024, in what the autopsy shows that the state’s medical examiner believes was an accidental “mixed Drug toxicity (fentanyl and fluorofentanyl).”

“I know why he was in the prison, but he shouldn’t have died there,” Mr. Mathis’s father, Tim Mathis, told Appleseed. He places the blame for his son’s overdose death squarely on the back of ADOC for allowing drugs inside the prisons. 

 

 

 

 

 

Kerry Dale Presnell, 36, was beaten and killed on Nov. 14, 2024, at Elmore Correctional Facility. 

Jamal Wilson, 38, was assaulted at Elmore Correctional Facility and died on Nov. 1, 2024. ADOC said at the time that he was found unresponsive on his bed and had a head injury and abrasions on both legs. 

Deandre Roney was one of four men at Donaldson Correctional Facility who died over a three-day period in June. Mr, Roney died June 9, 2024, at UAB Hospital after being stabbed in his back and in his head. Mr. Roney and his family had begged ADOC to keep him safe from a man who’d already stabbed him once, but he was not moved to safety.

Several of these families have appeared at the Legislative Joint Prison Oversight Committee to share their stories. Lawmakers on that committee have shown increasing concern for holding state officials more accountable for Alabama’s dangerous prisons. The committee meets next on January 22 at 10:30 am in room 807 in the Alabama Statehouse. 

Appleseed is working to investigate Alabama prison deaths. If you have information to share with us about the death of a loved one in the Alabama prison systems, please contact us at admin@alabamaappleseed.org.

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Incarcerated man hospitalized after “use of force” by ADOC sergeant at St. Clair prison

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By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher

St. Clair Correctional Facility (photo by Bernard Troncale)

Days before the close of 2024, a 53-year-old incarcerated man at St. Clair Correctional Facility was beaten by an officer, requiring hospitalization, according to sources, who tell Appleseed the man was handcuffed when beaten. 

That officer, whom those sources identify as Sergeant Jajuan Howard, has been placed on a “noncontact post pending the outcome of the investigation,” an Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) spokeswoman told Appleseed in a response Thursday. 

Stephen Shamburger’s injuries required hospitalization following the December 27th “Use of Force” incident, the spokeswoman’s response noted. Her reply didn’t name the officer or include details about what occurred.

Mr. Shamburger has been incarcerated for nearly 30 years. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole following a 1995 robbery conviction in Jefferson County. At the time, the sentence was mandatory under Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act based on the fact that he had three prior nonviolent felonies: two drug possession convictions and a conviction for breaking into a vehicle. Mr. Shamburger would be eligible for a much shorter sentence under laws in place today. 

Earnestine Shamburger, Mr. Shamburger’s mother, told Appleseed On Tuesday that she hadn’t received information from ADOC on her son’s condition, other than a brief phone call with an employee this week at St. Clair prison who mistakenly told her that her son was at UAB and was to be taken off a ventilator soon. 

“She didn’t tell me anything about what his condition was or how it happened.” Mrs. Shamburger said. “When we were talking she made the mistake of saying the name of UAB hospital, but when I questioned her about where he’s at she said she couldn’t tell me.” 

Mrs. Shamburger on Tuesday filled out an online form on ADOC’s website on Tuesday that family member can use to seek information about incarcerated loved ones, but as of Thursday morning she told Appleseed she has still not received a call regarding her son, and her attempts to reach someone at the prison Thursday morning were unsuccessful. 

“I’ve been calling all morning and I can’t get anybody,” Mrs. Shamburger said. “I’m about to worry myself to death thinking about what his situation is.” 

Mrs. Shamburger also expressed her desire to see the officer held to account. The ADOC spokeswoman told Appleseed that the department’s Law Enforcement Services Division is investigating the incident. 

Sgt. Howard is named in a July 2024 lawsuit filed in federal court that alleges he “punched Plaintiff in his left eye” and held the plaintiff in that suit while two other officers “struck Plaintiff in the face with a baton” and “continued to hit and/or kick him.” That alleged beating continued, and those officers allegedly “continuously stomped, kicked, and assaulted” the man. 

“Plaintiff was beat in and out of consciousness. He remembers hearing one of the Defendants state that he was “going to UAB today” and that he was “gonna die Today,” the lawsuit reads. 

 

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Appleseed is hiring an Executive Assistant!

Alabama Appleseed seeks an Executive Assistant to manage a wide range of administrative duties and provide development support. The Executive Assistant works closely with the Executive Director and reports directly to the Executive Director. This position requires excellent organizational skills, communications skills, and the ability to work independently in a fast-paced, nonprofit environment. An ideal candidate can manage spreadsheets, update a donor database, keep the office stocked with supplies, and troubleshoot with Spectrum when the internet is down. Mail merge, Mail Chimp, and basic graphic design skills are a plus, but not required.

Previous administrative, paralegal and/or office management experience is preferred. This is a full-time position based in Appleseed’s Birmingham office, although a 30 to 32-hour week role would be considered if the candidate possesses proven experience in a similar setting.

Our office can be calm one day, energetic the next. Comfort with the unexpected and an ability to adjust to new experiences are musts.  

 Responsibilities:

  • Assist leadership in responding to letters, emails, and requests from a wide range of stakeholders;
  • Provide support in coordinating meetings and public events;
  • Assist in managing Appleseed’s offices through maintaining office equipment, ordering supplies, communicating with vendors, and troubleshooting when related issues arise;
  • Organize and utilize excel development spreadsheets and Little Green Light donor database;
  • Manage mass mailings;  
  • Contribute to other organizational needs as might arise in a small nonprofit, particularly related to organization-wide projects such as the Celebrate Justice annual event, report distributions, and board meetings;
  • Assist in managing Executive Director’s schedule (occasionally);
  • Arrange some travel;
  • Assist with expense reports and filing of various documents;
  • Manage on-boarding of new employees.

Qualifications:

  • Demonstrated commitment to Alabama Appleseed’s mission, vision, and approach to advocacy;
  • Two or more years of experience as an administrative assistant or office manager preferred;
  • Highly proficient in Excel, Microsoft, Powerpoint, adobe and Google docs;
  • Excellent written communication skills;
  • Strong initiative and ability to manage and complete tasks with minimal supervision;
  • Commitment to working in an office setting full time;
  • Ability to get along and work collaboratively with diverse personalities;
  • Valid Alabama drivers license.

​Salary and Benefits: This position offers a competitive nonprofit salary range of $45,000 to $55,000, depending on experience, along with a benefits package including health insurance, generous paid leave, and 401(k) after one year; reimbursement of travel-related expenses.

To Apply: Send a cover letter, resume, and three references to Appleseed’s Executive Director, Carla Crowder, at carla.crowder@alabamaappleseed.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and accepted until the position is filled. Please write “Executive Assistant” in the subject line. 

The injustices that we are fighting in Alabama today are directly connected to long histories of inequality and oppression in this state. As we build our team to fight for a better Alabama, we know that people who have historically been overlooked need to lead. For this reason, we welcome and strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, people with criminal histories, people from working class backgrounds, and LGBTQ people.

Alabama Appleseed values an inclusive culture and diverse workforce. Alabama Appleseed encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, and record of arrest or conviction. 

About Alabama Appleseed: ​Alabama Appleseed is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1999 whose mission is to achieve justice and equity for all Alabamians. Alabama Appleseed conducts integrated culture and policy change campaigns to confront laws and policies that harm the poor and to remedy the root causes of poverty and injustice. Its campaigns use policy analysis, research and documentation, legislative action, public education, community organizing, coalition building, direct legal representation and reentry services. Alabama Appleseed is a vibrant, growing organization that prides itself on creating strategic, evidence-based solutions to some of the most pressing problems in Alabama, and allowing the ingenuity of our staff to lead the way. We achieve our mission through a unique hybrid model: providing legal representation and reentry services to wrongly sentenced Alabaimans and conducting research and policy advocacy to reform the systems that created Alabama’s criminal justice crisis.

Alabama Appleseed is a member of the national Appleseed Network, which includes 18 Appleseed centers across the U.S. and in Mexico City.

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Ronnie Peoples is free! Sentenced to life without parole for offenses with no physical injury, Mr. Peoples was respected and beloved at St. Clair prison. But it took a cancer diagnosis for him to be released.

Ronnie Peoples on his release day from St. Clair Correctional Facility. Joining him are Researcher Eddie Burkhalter, Executive Director Carla Crowder, St. Clair trade school instructor Bradley Black, Mr. Peoples, Staff Attorney Scott Fuqua and trade school instructor Chad Spurlin.

By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Research

Ronnie Peoples stood alongside Bradley Black in St. Clair Correctional Facility and the two men hugged before Mr. Peoples walked outside as a free man for the first time in 33 years. 

Mr. Black, a welding instructor at the prison’s trade school, worked for decades alongside Mr. Peoples, who kept track of the tools for the instructor, a critical job in a prison. “When you get outside, smell the air,” Mr. Black told Mr. Peoples. “It smells different.” 

Mr. Peoples with his attorney Scott Fuqua.

Mr. Peoples, 69, took a couple steps outside the prison’s door and standing in the misty December morning, took a deep breath. “I smell it. Smells different,” he said as Appleseed staff walked him outside to start his life anew. 

Mr. Peoples has served more than three decades of a life without the possibility of parole sentence under the state’s Habitual Felony Offender Act (HFOA). He is among the growing number of very sick and older incarcerated people in Alabama. He was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in April 2023. The disease has spread to a lung and to a rib, and with Appleseed attorney Scott Fuqua’s help, Mr. Peoples applied for and was granted a medical furlough. 

“Last night was probably the longest night of my whole life,” Mr. Peoples told Appleseed’s Executive Director, Carla Crowder, just outside the prison. He didn’t sleep much, and instead thought about those who were coming to get him the next morning, about seeing family for Christmas whom he hasn’t seen in decades, including a 10-year-old grandson he’s never met. He thought about family most of all. 

Mr. Peoples received his life without the possibility of parole sentence after a 1991 robbery of a beverage company conviction in Tuscaloosa County. No one was injured. His sentence was enhanced under the HFOA because of prior robbery convictions more than four decades ago in the 1970s, including in Ohio. Life without parole was the only available sentence at the time, but because of changes to Alabama sentencing laws, Mr. Peoples would have been eligible for a much shorter sentence if current laws applied to his case. Last year, Appleseed profiled his situation in a series of reports about the Cruel and Unusual conditions in Alabama’s prisons.

Mr. Peoples with his trade instructors Bradley Black and Chad Spurlin.

“The whole block started clapping,” Mr. Peoples said of walking through the prison before his release. 

His road to freedom was long. 

In 2005, Mr . Peoples asked the court to reconsider his sentence, and Mr. Black, in a letter to the judge 18 years ago wrote: “He is an excellent worker and a person whom I can count on and trust. .. I normally do not write letters for the inmates. When Ronnie asked me to write this letter for him, I felt it was the least I could do for someone who has helped me so much and has never asked for anything in return.”

While Mr. Peoples application was approved by ADOC Commissioner John Hamm, medical furloughs aren’t easy to get in Alabama. Of the 30 medical furlough applications received in 2023, ADOC approved 10, according to the department’s report. However, three applicants died during the review process. Approvals were similar in other recent years: 10 for medical furlough in 2021 and nine in 2022. 

Mr. Peoples poses for pics with Bradley Black.

Treatment for his cancer while incarcerated was lacking, Mr Peoples explained, and getting timely medical information on his condition was difficult. He’d often go many weeks without a checkup, and planned lab work would be missed. He had his last lab work done about a week before release, and said he’s hopeful he’ll receive better treatment in the free world. 

Appleseed’s reentry team is assisting with all of the wraparound services he will need, including assisting with access to Social Security and Medicare.

“There’s going to be a whole lot of tears shed,” Mr. Peoples said of when he’d see his sister and other family members later that day. “My sister. She can’t stop crying, every time I call her…I just want to enjoy the Christmas spirit with my family.” 

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Welcome Summer Intern Katia Apedoh

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“Alabama Appleseed is a natural bridge between the diversity, equity, and inclusion work that I have done in high school and what I plan to do in college. I am so grateful to Appleseed for the opportunity to learn about the problems that impact justice-involved people in Alabama and see what it means to be an advocate!”

Katia Apedoh just graduated from Hoover High School, where she served as leadership for Student Diversity Council, captained Ethics Bowl, and received her International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. Katia was very active with diversity work within the Hoover City Schools District, even developing a diversity initiative for teachers for which she received the 2024 Alabama Princeton Prize in Race Relations. In the fall, Katia will attend Washington and Lee University where she plans to double major in English and Politics with a minor in Law, Justice, and Society. Katia hopes to attend law school.

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