April 2026: News and Updates

Hello from Alabama Appleseed! Our April newsletter contains your monthly dose of hope and justice from right here in Alabama. We accomplished surprising things this quarter. And Jason Isbell stopped by.

Grammy-award winning singer and songwriter, Jason Isbell, performs a benefit concert for Appleseed April 16 at the Lyric Theatre. Photo by Josh Weichman

Read more here.

Highlights:

Appleseed’s focus on representing people unnecessarily incarcerated under extreme sentences has resulted in freedom for dozens of Alabamians. They are catching up on lost time with their beloved families, holding down jobs, and trying to recover from decades in Alabama’s brutal prisons. Recent wins include:

• Medical parole for Leon “Bud” Hotchkiss, 70, who served 14 years on a marijuana conviction.
• Parole for Milton Hambright, 63, who served more than 30 years and immediately found employment operating a forklift at a Cullman manufacturing plant.

Milton Hambright enjoys his freedom. Pictured with Scott Fuqua, Kathleen Henderson, and Ronald McKeithen from our staff.

• Parole for Scarlette Orso, 62, who served 17 years on a manslaughter conviction. Ms. Orso is Appleseed’s first criminalized survivor as the victim in her case had abused her for years.
• Parole for Tommy Rogers, a US Army veteran who served 22 years without a single disciplinary. Even the victim’s family in his case supported his release.
• Parole for Marcus Miller, 57, who served 27 years during which he did his own legal work to successfully challenge an illegal life without parole sentence.
• Parole for LaToya Davis, who served 26 years for an offense that occurred when she was only 15.
• Medical parole for Jamaal Mabry, 29, who was sentenced to prison for a robbery conviction, then suffered a stabbing injury which left him quadriplegic.

Appleseed led multiple legislative wins this session, including pushing two criminal justice reform bills over the finish line and helping to develop a pilot program for independent prison oversight that will launch immediately. Our success came from working closely with those most impacted by the system. Read about Elaine Burdeshaw’s experiences this session in the newsletter.