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…
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…
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…
Pro Bono Month: Standing Up for Greater Access to Justice
Access to Justice, Phillip EnslerOctober marks Pro Bono Month, in which Alabama celebrates the difference made by pro bono lawyers throughout the state who serve our communities by providing free civil legal aid to those in need.
These volunteer lawyers--along with lawyers…
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…
Sign up for our Action Alerts!
These emailed Action Alerts will keep you up-do-date on pending legislation or state actions, and provide ways that you can get involved.
Latest News
- Incarcerated people learn from their mistakes. The government that locks them up has not. April 5, 2019
- How a couple lost everything because of $50 worth of marijuana, a Lunesta pill, and an overzealous drug task force armed with the power to seize their assets March 30, 2019
- What last week’s SCOTUS ruling on excessive fines and fees could mean for Alabama March 3, 2019
- Introducing Carla Crowder, New Executive Director January 14, 2019
- Public Support for Payday Reform Increases in Alabama October 25, 2018
Appleseed Network
Incarcerated people learn from their mistakes. The government that locks them up has not.
Alabama prisons, Carla Crowder, Fair Schools, Safe Communities, NewsBy Carla Crowder, Alabama Appleseed Executive Director Antonio was incarcerated at St. Clair prison a few years ago when another prisoner bit off part of his ear. They were housed in a dorm that supposedly offered rehabilitative services. For Antonio, permanent disfigurement was the outcome. He did not seek revenge against the man who bit […]
How a couple lost everything because of $50 worth of marijuana, a Lunesta pill, and an overzealous drug task force armed with the power to seize their assets
Civil Asset Forfeiture, Fair Schools, Safe Communities, Leah NelsonBy Leah Nelson, Appleseed Researcher WOODLAND, Ala. (March 30, 2019) Teresa Almond is terrified. Though more than 13 months have passed since the day the Randolph County Drug Task Force upended her life with a flashbang grenade and a raid on her home, the 49-year-old grandmother still spends at least part of most days sitting […]
What last week’s SCOTUS ruling on excessive fines and fees could mean for Alabama
Advocacy News, Carla Crowder, Fines and Fees, Leah NelsonAcross Alabama, residents lose their jobs, housing, drivers’ licenses, and spend long stretches in jail because they cannot afford to pay court fines and fees. This week, a unanimous United States Supreme Court reminded states that this is not supposed to happen anywhere in America. The case, Timbs v. Indiana, concerns the questionable practice of civil […]