Skip to content

Public safety

News / Public safety

Man dies at Holman prison

A Capshaw man serving at the Holman Correctional Facility near Atmore died Tuesday, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections.  APR confirmed that James McClain, 54,  died at the prison and that the cause of death is under investigation pending an autopsy, ADOC said in a statement, adding that foul play isn’t suspected.  McClain’s death … Continued
January 24, 2020

Lawsuits over 2016 raid at Holman prison allege guards beat handcuffed prisoners

At 6:35 A.M. on the morning of Nov. 9, 2016, approximately 39 correctional officers wearing riot gear, some carrying firearms, entered the Bravo dormitory at the Holman Correctional facility near Atmore.  What happened in the moments that followed resulted in 16 civil lawsuits filed by incarcerated men who say officers used batons and fists on … Continued
January 23, 2020

Chip Brown introduces bill to allow judge to deny bail to violent offenders

Wednesday, State Representative Chip Brown (R – Mobile) and Angela Harris, the mother of Auburn murder victim Aniah Blanchard, were in Montgomery urging legislators to support a proposed Alabama Constitutional amendment that allows prosecutors and judges broader discretion in requesting and denying bail to those accused of committing violent crimes. Section 16 of the 1901 … Continued
January 23, 2020

Legal filings, evidence, witnesses paint a disturbing picture in fraud case against Coleman Moving Company

In the late-2000s, Scot Dannen, the general manager of a Coleman Worldwide Moving facility in Colorado Springs, Co., was approached by one of the company’s truck drivers and asked an odd question.  The driver wanted to know where Dannen’s “weight crate” was located, according to testimony Dannen provided under oath in a deposition.  Dannen was … Continued
January 22, 2020

Alabamians for Fair Justice calls for major criminal justice reforms

Alabama Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon and Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh have said that lawmakers will address state prisons in the coming Legislative Session. It is not certain whether the Legislature will consider criminal justice reforms as a part of an overall solution to prison overcrowding, but Alabamians for Fair Justice (AFJ) … Continued
January 15, 2020

Alabama Appleseed gets NFL grant for criminal justice reform work

An Alabama nonprofit is one of six social justice organizations to have recently received a grant from the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative.  The Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice in Montgomery was selected by a joint group of NFL players and owners to receive one of the grants, which the nonprofit will use toward … Continued
January 14, 2020

Alabama Department of Corrections investigating death at Holman prison

A man serving at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility died nine days into the new year, according to a statement from the Alabama Department of Corrections.  Antonio Bell, 29, was pronounced dead at the Escambia County prison on Jan 9, according to the statement.  “Bell’s cause of death is pending a full autopsy. ADOC’s … Continued
January 13, 2020

State not hiring nearly enough prison correctional officers to meet court order, according to court filing

In a court filing Friday an attorneys for plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Corrections highlighted how few correctional officers the state has hired since a federal judge ordered at least 2,000 more be sent to work inside the state’s deadly, overcrowded prisons.  The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), in a statement … Continued
January 7, 2020

ACLU of Alabama report: Parole reductions to worsen prison overcrowded in 2020

A report released Monday predicts that in 2020 Alabama’s deadly, overcrowded prisons, already under threat of a federal takeover, will become even more crowded, largely due to a dramatic reduction in the number of paroles being granted.   The report, published by the Campaign for Smart Justice with the ACLU of Alabama, predicts that the state … Continued
January 7, 2020