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Southern Poverty Law Center

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Cannabis advocates troubled by veteran’s 5-year sentence for medical marijuana

The Alabama Cannabis Industry Association on Monday released a statement critical of the decision by an Alabama court to imprison an Arizona man for five years after his probation for a 2016 marijuana arrest was revoked in April. Sean Worsley was an Iraq War vet who legally uses marijuana for post-traumatic stress disorder, and for … Continued
July 14, 2020

Supreme Court sides with Alabama in COVID-19 voting case

The U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision Thursday blocked a federal district judge’s order that would have made it easier for many Alabamians to vote during the pandemic, issuing an emergency stay of the lower court’s injunction in People First of Alabama v. Merrill. The court’s more liberal justices dissented, while the five conservative … Continued
July 3, 2020

Federal appeals court rules against Alabama in COVID-19 voting case

Judges on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals turned down the state of Alabama’s appeal to the court over a federal judge’s ruling lifting a statewide ban on curbside voting and waiving certain absentee ballot requirements for voters in at least Jefferson, Mobile, and Lee Counties for the July 14 runoff. U.S. Circuit judges Jill … Continued
June 25, 2020

Court asked to intervene to address understaffing in Alabama prisons

Attorneys for the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Corrections in a Wednesday court filing argued that the state is woefully behind on court-ordered hiring of correctional officers for the state’s overcrowded, understaffed prisons, and they asked for more court intervention.  It has been more than two years since U.S. District Judge … Continued
June 24, 2020

DOJ defends Alabama absentee voting law

The U.S. Department of Justice isn’t using its vast powers to ensure the country’s most vulnerable people can exercise their right to vote, but is instead focusing its efforts on defending laws that clearly violate the spirit of the Voting Rights Act, an attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center said Tuesday.  The comments, from … Continued
May 27, 2020

SPLC: Ivey’s statements on absentee balloting “irresponsible”

The Southern Poverty Law Center condemned Governor Kay Ivey’s comments saying she would not advocate for “no-excuse absentee voting” during the COVID-19 outbreak, calling her comments “irresponsible.” Currently, to receive an absentee ballot, the voter must submit a valid reason as to why they are unable or unwilling to vote at a polling place. “No-excuse” … Continued
March 26, 2020

ADOC investigating possible suicide at Easterling Correctional Facility

The death of a man serving in the Easterling Correctional Facility in Barbour County on Sunday is being investigated as a possible suicide.  Marquell Underwood, 22, was found in his cell unresponsive at approximately 4 p.m. on Sunday, according to a statement by the Alabama Department of Corrections.  Underwood was being held in solitary confinement, … Continued
February 26, 2020

Secretary Merrill says voting is easier than ever in Alabama

The following statement from Secretary of State John H. Merrill is in response to the inaccurate report shared by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Alabama Political Reporter columnist Josh Moon: “A report published Monday morning by the Southern Poverty Law Center presented readers with the grossly inaccurate claim that voter suppression is ‘alive and … Continued
February 13, 2020