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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.
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
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
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
July 23, 2020

14th Alabama inmate dies after testing positive for COVID-19

A 47-year-old man serving at the St. Clair Correctional Facility became the 14th Alabama inmate to die after testing positive for COVID-19, the Alabama Department of Corrections said Monday. Wilson Roosevelt Conner, who had multiple underlying conditions including end-stage renal disease, died Friday, the department said in a press release. He was tested for COVID-19 … Continued
July 20, 2020

DA defends imprisonment of disabled vet for marijuana charges

West Alabama District Attorney Andy Hamlin defended the court decision to revoke Sean Worsley’s probation, sending the Black disabled veteran to state prison for 60 months on felony marijuana charges. Hamlin spoke to APR in a phone interview about the case. Sean Worsley is a Black disabled veteran who was arrested on felony marijuana charges … Continued
July 17, 2020

Attorney general appoints Prim Escalona to replace U.S. Attorney Jay Town

Attorney General William Barr on Thursday announced the appointment of Prim Escalona as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.  Escalona, formerly the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Justice Department, fills the position left vacant by the resignation of Jay Town, who ended his … Continued
July 16, 2020

Police may serve search warrants out of their jurisdiction, Alabama AG says

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Tuesday that recent actions by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and the Alabama Supreme Court have clarified that Alabama law allows law enforcement officers in the state to serve search warrants outside their territorial jurisdiction as long as a judge within the jurisdiction of service approves the warrant. … Continued
July 16, 2020