Public safety

Locked in Crisis: Packed by strict sentencing laws, prisons brace for COVID-19

As the U.S. reels from an unprecedented global health emergency, many people have been sounding alarms about the magnified threat posed to people in prison. With the highest incarceration rates in the world, America’s overcrowded facilities are prime environments for a contagion like the novel coronavirus to spread. Mandatory minimum sentencing laws have played a … Continued

April 21, 2020

Alabama inmate died after testing positive for COVID-19. Two others test positive

An inmate in an Alabama prison who tested positive for COVID-19 has died, the Alabama Department Corrections announced Friday. Two others have tested positive for the virus. Dave Thomas, 66, a terminally ill man serving a life-sentence at St. Clair Correctional Facility died Thursday after having been taken to a local hospital on April 4. … Continued

April 17, 2020

State prisons to began accepting county jail inmates, under conditions

The Alabama Department of Corrections on Thursday announced it would begin accepting inmates from county jails once the 30-day moratorium is over on the week of April 20, but will do so gradually, in limited numbers and won’t accept inmates who have COVID-19 symptoms. “Additionally, the Department will not accept intakes from any jail facility … Continued

April 16, 2020

Two more prison workers positive for COVID-19, bringing total to six at six Alabama prisons

Two more Alabama Department of Corrections employees have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to six staff members at six state facilities. Alabama Department of Corrections spokeswoman Samantha Rose in a response to APR on Tuesday said that one worker at the Bullock Correctional Facility in Union Springs and an employee at the Elba Community-based … Continued

April 14, 2020

Parole hearings can’t resume any quicker due to state law, bureau says

After Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday issued an order for parole hearings to resume and the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles announced hearings would restart May 18, some worried that it was too long to wait amid the COVID-19 crisis. Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, in a Tuesday morning tweet urged the bureau to hold hearings … Continued

April 14, 2020

Gov. Ivey orders parole hearings to safely resume during COVID-19 outbreak

Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday issued an order for parole hearings to resume after the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles suspended hearings last month amid the COVID-19 crisis. The Bureau in a statement Monday said hearings are to resume the week of May 18. The month-long delay before hearings resume has worries some who say … Continued

April 13, 2020

Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles officer tests positive for COVID-19

An officer with the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the bureau. The officer is self-quarantining at his home, the bureau said in a statement Monday. “The men and women who are out in the field doing this vital work to protect the people of Alabama while helping … Continued

April 13, 2020

Mobile County jail inmates, officers test positive for COVID-19

The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office says six inmates at the county jail and even more correctional officers have tested positive for COVID-19, according to WKRG, which broke the story on Thursday. Attempts to reach the sheriff’s office’s public information officer wasn’t immediately successful Thursday, but WKRG reported that the sheriff’s office confirmed that 6 inmates … Continued

April 9, 2020

Pardons and Paroles: Restarting parole hearings “under review” amid COVID-19 crisis

The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles is reviewing the possibility of restarting parole hearings through virtual means during the COVID-19 crisis, a bureau spokesman said Thursday. Terry Abbott, spokesman for the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, in a message to APR said that both a Wednesday report by the ACLU of Alabama on a … Continued

April 9, 2020

Deadline extended for Alabama prison bids due to coronavirus

Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday announced that because of the COVID-19, she’s giving a two-week deadline extension for submission of proposals to build then lease three new prisons to the state. Those proposals had been due by April 30 but the two developer teams – Alabama Prison Transformation Partners and CoreCivic – will have until … Continued

April 7, 2020