CRIME AND PUNISHMENT–These FIRST two words form the foundation of our criminal justice system. When crimes are committed and a perpetrator is charged, other words become important: presumption of innocence, constitutional rights, and fairness. In Judge Kechia S. Davis’ courtroom, another word was the theme for the day: forgiveness. Yes, Barbara Ekes, the mother of […]
As the Executive Director of Redemption Earned, I attended our first medical parole hearing before the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. This week, the Parole Board denied medical parole to a dying woman, a Redemption Earned client, Leola Harris. This denial by the Parole Board was a blatant violation of its role in the […]
As a part of the Redemption Earned (RE) initiative, made possible through a grant from the American College of Trial Lawyers, we have set a goal to provide free legal assistance to over 100 interested incarcerated individuals so that they can become eligible for work-release in our first year. We call this initiative the WIN Program […]
by Megan Plotka More than four years ago, Alabama prisons were overcrowded to the point of being unconstitutional, according to federal court judges. Now, new data shows fewer paroles may be compounding that problem. In just four years, parole denials in Alabama nearly doubled. That’s according to data from the Alabama Bureau of Pardons & Paroles […]
by Chris McCauley Students who participate in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Pre-Law Program in the Department of Criminal Justice have access to pre-law advising, an academic minor, and activities designed to build pre-professional competencies, including legal research and critical thinking. According to Brandon Blankenship, J.D., assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice […]
by Mary Price, Families Against Mandatory Minimums Compassionate release allows prisoners facing imminent death, advancing age, or debilitating medical conditions to secure early release when those developments diminish the need for or morality of continued imprisonment. We believe that shedding light on state compassionate release policies and programs is the first step to improving […]
The number of young people (age 15 to 30) in Alabama prisons has been cut in half over the last 15 years. Meanwhile, the number of people over age 50 has doubled. How is Alabama factoring this trend into current prison construction plans? Read this linked brief to understand the impact of this trend […]
By Carla Crowder, Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Something just short of miraculous is happening in Alabama’s prisons. The number of incarcerated young people has been cut in half since 2005. Buried within statistical reports on the Alabama Department of Corrections, the numbers are clear: In 2005, prisons housed 9,827 people ages 15 […]
