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Parole hearings this Week

The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles announced in a statement to the press that it will hold parole hearings for twenty violent offenders this week. Among them one murderer, three sex offenders, and eight who were convicted of robbery. Deashton Luvoris Hayes is a two-time convicted robber. He was sentenced in 2010 to two … Continued
December 17, 2019

Ozark Police Officer shot and in critical condition

Late Thursday night an Ozark police officer Samuel Yoh was shot after responding to a call at the 100 block of Briar Hill Court. Officer Yoh is in critical condition. Yoh was on patrol when a call came over the radio about a possibly suicidal man. Yoh arrived at the scene and got out of … Continued
December 16, 2019

Limestone judge indicted on theft, abuse of office charges

The Alabama Attorney General’s office on Thursday announced the indictment of Limestone County Circuit Judge Douglas Lee Patterson on three felony charges that he used his office for personal gain.  Patterson, 37, was arrested Thursday morning by agents with Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office following indictments by a Limestone County special grand jury, according … Continued
December 13, 2019

Federal judge concerned over prison staffing, undertrained fill-ins

A federal judge last week pressed attorneys representing the Alabama Department of Corrections about staffing problems that the plaintiff’s attorneys argued may run afoul of a court order to increase correctional officers in the state’s overcrowded, understaffed prisons.  U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson in the Dec. 6 hearing, first reported by Alabama Daily News,  asked … Continued
December 12, 2019

Two officers on leave after Alabama inmate death

Too little, too late, advocates for criminal justice reform say to promises for reform by the Alabama Department of Corrections following a second inmate death at the hands of correctional officers in three months.  The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) released a statement on Tuesday announcing that 55-year-old inmate Michael Smith of Fairfield was pronounced … Continued
December 11, 2019

County commissioners report: 2015 prison reform led to less prisoners in prison but more in county jails

Wednesday, the Executive Director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama Sonny Brasfield told county commissioners that sentencing reform in 2015 has shifted more prisoners and the costs of those prisons from state prisons to county jails and county budgets. “I let you down,” Brasfield told the commissioners. In 2015, the state legislature passed … Continued
December 11, 2019

State mourns loss of Huntsville officer Billy Clardy III

Friday, Huntsville Police Officer Billy Clardy III was shot and killed in the line of duty. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) expressed her grief at the loss of yet another Alabama law enforcement officer killed defending the public safety of the people of Alabama. Officer Clardy was part of a STAC team operation that set … Continued
December 9, 2019

Three shot outside Jacksonville bar

Jacksonville Police on Saturday continued to investigate what they believe was a gang-related shooting at Brother’s Bar that left three men wounded, according to police.  Jacksonville Police Chief Marcus Wood told APR on Saturday that several people opened fire outside the bar early Saturday morning, and that three men were later taken to Regional Medical … Continued
December 7, 2019

Another prisoner is dead inside an Alabama prison

Alabama Department of Corrections officials are investigating yet another inmate death.  Correctional officers at the Easterling Correctional Facility in Clio found inmate Rubin Hayes, 54, unconscious in his cell on Nov. 24, according to an ADOC press release that was sent out on Wednesday, 10 days after Hayes’ death.  The release from ADOC says Hayes … Continued
December 5, 2019

The people of Alabama mostly don’t care that their prisons are awful

The majority of Alabamians don’t care about people in prison.  Hell, they barely care about people outside of prison, judging from our statistics on infant mortality, premature deaths, overall health of the population and elder care. And those are people who didn’t commit a crime.  So, I wish we’d stop the nonsense, put an end … Continued
December 5, 2019