Skip to content

Public safety

News / Health / Public safety / State

Public defender working to free some inmates in Birmingham jail amid COVID-19 crisis

At least five people in the Jefferson County Jail had their paroles revoked after serving time in state prisons for non-violent crimes, and as the threat of COVID-19 inside jails and prisons increases, some are working to get them out before it’s too late. The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles told APR on Tuesday, … Continued
April 7, 2020

Alabama inmate killed by another inmate at Ventress Correctional

A Birmingham man serving at Ventress Correctional Facility in Clayton was killed by another inmate, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections.  Dennis Benson, 40, who was serving a 36-month sentence for possession of a controlled substance and receiving stolen property, died March 30 after being attacked by another inmate, ADOC said in a statement.  … Continued
March 31, 2020

Attorney general partners with Facebook to stop price-gouging

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Friday announced a partnership with Facebook to address price-gouging on the social media site by people looking to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic.  “There is no question that unscrupulous operators are trying to take advantage of Alabamians looking to buy basic necessities to protect and sustain themselves and their … Continued
March 27, 2020

SPLC joins ACLU of Alabama in request for plans to protect jails, prisons from COVID-19

Civil rights groups are demanding that action is taken to protect people in jails and prisons, who are vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.  The Southern Poverty Law Center on Tuesday called for the federal government and officials in Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida to protect those facilities through evidence-based protocols and to “release those people … Continued
March 17, 2020

Nathanial Woods executed as accomplice in 2004 murders of three police officers

A Birmingham man convicted of being an accomplice in the murders of three Birmingham police officers was executed Thursday evening.  Nathaniel Woods, 43, was executed after appeals and national media attention failed to deter Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to intervene. Woods was convicted of being an accomplice in the murders, despite the shooter’s statements that … Continued
March 6, 2020

Pleas for clemency mount ahead of execution set for Thursday

At 6 p.m. today Nathaniel Woods is to be put to death at Holman prison for the shooting deaths of three police officers whom he did not shoot.  A jury in 2005 convicted Woods of being an accomplice to the deaths of the three Birmingham police officers – Charles Bennett, Carlos Owen and Harley Chisholm … Continued
March 5, 2020

Two correctional officers, two prison visitors arrested for contraband

Two correctional officers and two visitors to state prisons have been arrested on charges related to illegal contraband, the Alabama Department of Corrections announced Wednesday.  Basic correctional officer Terrence Tolbert, 39, of Brewton, was arrested on Feb. 24 after an investigation into contraband at Fountain Correctional Facility, according to ADOC’s press release Wednesday.  “The agent … Continued
March 5, 2020

Family awaits report on cause of son’s death in Easterling prison

The mother of a 22-year-old who died in Easterling Correctional Facility on Sunday says the family couldn’t get answers from prison officials about what happened to him, and only learned that officials believe he died by suicide after reading news articles.  Carla Underwood Lewis said her family began receiving calls from other incarcerated men at … Continued
March 3, 2020