Public safety

Internal report on Alabama inmate’s death backs statements by concerned whistleblowers

Almost all of the information in the report has already been published through APR’s own independent reporting on McMillian’s death, and the report corroborates much of APR’s reporting. 

Eddie Burkhalter

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August 13, 2020

Alabama Department of Corrections investigating inmate death

Robert Earl Adams, 40, died on Aug. 5 and although no foul play is suspected, a department spokeswoman in a message to APR said the exact cause of death is pending an autopsy.

Eddie Burkhalter

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August 7, 2020

Alabama House speaker addresses arrest of Rep. Will Dismukes on theft charge

Speaker of the Alabama House Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, on Friday said a state representative arrested and charged with theft on Thursday is alleged to have committed the theft before he was elected and is due a presumption of innocence.  Rep. Will Dismukes, R-Prattville, turned himself in at the Montgomery County Detention Center Thursday after a … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

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August 7, 2020

Arrest warrant issued for Rep. Will Dismukes for felony theft

Dismukes is charged with first-degree theft of property in connection with a theft that occurred at his place of employment between the years 2016 to 2018.

Eddie Burkhalter

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August 6, 2020

Alabama Department of Corrections investigating death of 28-year-old inmate

The Alabama Department of Corrections is investigating the death of a 28-year-old inmate at the St. Clair Correctional Facility as a possible suicide.  Charles Labarron Braggs was found unresponsive by prison officials in his cell on Monday, and life-saving attempts were unsuccessful, the department said in a message to APR on Thursday. Braggs was not … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

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July 30, 2020

Four Alabama correctional officers indicted on federal charges connected to 2018 inmate beating

The indictments come five days after the DOJ released a report detailing systemic violence against inmates at the hands of Alabama Department of Corrections officers.

Eddie Burkhalter

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July 28, 2020

Alabama Department of Corrections “disappointed” by “surprise” DOJ report on excessive force

The Alabama Department of Corrections on Friday responded to a scathing report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice detailing correctional officers’ violence against incarcerated men in state prisons, saying the department was “disappointed in the surprise manner” in which the DOJ released the report.  The DOJ’s report details numerous instances of unprovoked and … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

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July 24, 2020

Alabama attorney general says state was “ambushed” with DOJ report on mens’ prisons

Reaction to the U.S. Department of Justice’s latest scathing report on Alabama’s broken prisons for men came swiftly on Thursday, and the state’s top law enforcement officer claims Alabama was “ambushed.” The Justice Department report published Thursday details numerous instances of unprovoked and illegal violence against inmates by correctional officers, cover-ups of those crimes by … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

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July 24, 2020

Justice Department report finds systemic excessive use of force by prison guards, attempted cover-ups

The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday released a report that details why the federal government believes systemic use of excessive force within Alabama’s prisons for men violates the Eighth Amendment.  The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama found systemic problems … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

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July 23, 2020