New Report: Fines and Fees Hurt People, Drive Alabama’s Racial Wealth Divide, and Make Alabamians Less Safe
Fair Schools, Safe Communities, Frank KnaackA new report finds that many Alabamians report sacrificing food, medicine, and other basic necessities — and in some cases, resorting to crime — to pay down unnecessarily burdensome court costs, fines, and fees. More than eight in…
Alabama Appleseed Files Amicus Brief in U.S. Supreme Court Case Arguing the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines Clause Should Rein In Civil Asset Forfeiture Abuses
Fair Schools, Safe Communities, News, Press ReleaseOn Tuesday, Alabama Appleseed joined a diverse set of twelve organizations asking the U.S. Supreme Court to find that the Eighth Amendment’s excessive fines clause applies to the states. The case is Timbs v. Indiana. Mr. Timbs was arrested…
Civil Rights Groups Applaud Governor Ivey’s Action to Stop Sheriffs from Personally Profiting from Taxpayer Funded Jail Food Money
Fair Schools, Safe Communities, Press ReleaseIn response to Governor Kay Ivey’s announcement today that the Alabama Comptroller will now require sheriffs to sign an affidavit swearing that they will use jail food money for jail food, the Southern Center for Human Rights and Alabama Appleseed…
Dr. Wayne Flynt to Receive Alabama Appleseed’s 2018 Brewer/Torbert Public Service Award
Press ReleaseDr. Wayne Flynt, Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at Auburn University, will receive the 2018 Brewer/Torbert Public Service Award. First awarded in 2006, the award is given annually by Alabama Appleseed to an individual in Alabama…
Governor Kay Ivey’s Memos Do Not Yet Prevent Alabama Sheriffs From Pocketing Jail Food Funds
Fair Schools, Safe Communities, News, Press ReleaseIn two memos sent yesterday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced that sheriffs may no longer personally profit from a very small portion of jail food funds: those state funds allocated for services in preparing and serving food to people in…
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Latest News
- Public Support for Payday Reform Increases in Alabama October 25, 2018
- Alabama’s Marijuana Laws are Costly to Enforce, Undermine Public Safety and Disproportionately Harm African Americans October 18, 2018
- Groups Call for Investigation Into Potential Violations of Federal Law by Alabama Sheriffs with Federal Detention Contracts who Convert Jail Food Funds to Personal Use October 17, 2018
- Pro Bono Month: Standing Up for Greater Access to Justice October 13, 2018
- New Report: Fines and Fees Hurt People, Drive Alabama’s Racial Wealth Divide, and Make Alabamians Less Safe October 10, 2018
Appleseed Network
Public Support for Payday Reform Increases in Alabama
Dana Sweeney, Other Issuesby Dana Sweeney, Organizer If you start asking around for people’s opinions of payday lending in Alabama, the responses will almost all follow along the same lines: that payday lenders are legalized loan sharks, that 456% APR interest rates are usury, that these shameless lenders prey upon and abuse the poorest Alabamians to make a […]
Alabama’s Marijuana Laws are Costly to Enforce, Undermine Public Safety and Disproportionately Harm African Americans
Fair Schools, Safe Communities, Frank KnaackMarijuana prohibition costs the state and its municipalities an estimated $22 million a year, creates a dangerous backlog at the agency that tests forensic evidence in violent crimes, and needlessly ensnares thousands of people – disproportionately African Americans – in the criminal justice system, according to a report released today by Alabama Appleseed Center for […]
Groups Call for Investigation Into Potential Violations of Federal Law by Alabama Sheriffs with Federal Detention Contracts who Convert Jail Food Funds to Personal Use
NewsIn a letter sent yesterday to the United States Attorneys for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama, the Southern Center for Human Rights, Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Adelante Alabama Worker Center, the American Conservative Union, and FreedomWorks urged an investigation into Alabama sheriffs with federal detention contracts who have personally […]