By Eddie Burkhalter An Alabama correctional officer, caught on video beating an incarcerated man on a prison rooftop last week, has been placed on mandatory leave. The violence caught on camera and shared widely on social media is a visible example of the often unseen violence that regularly takes place in Alabama prisons. Jimmy Norman, […]
By Carla Crowder, Executive Director Leaning on his walker, Robert Cheeks shuffled out of Donaldson Correctional Facility and took his first breaths as a free man in 37 years. He was 79 years old. The state of Alabama meant for him to die in prison. In 1985, Mr. Cheeks received a mandatory sentence of life […]
Family members of incarcerated people struggle for answers as violence and death escalate in ADOC prisons By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher It was five days after Jason Freeman was found lying in the yard at Ventress Correctional Facility in August – two stab wounds piercing his heart – before his mother received a call from […]
About Alabama Appleseed: Alabama Appleseed is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1999 whose mission is to achieve justice and equity for all Alabamians. Alabama Appleseed conducts integrated culture and policy change campaigns to confront laws and policies that harm the poor and to remedy the root causes of poverty and injustice. Its campaigns […]
(Once you read this, you’ll see why.) By Libby Rau “Tonight the severity of my sentence has finally started to sink in. …I looked at the law books on my floor and this thought came to me: ‘I’m only pacifying myself.’ I truly don’t know if I can take any more negative encounters with the […]
A Record Number of Violent, Preventable Deaths in Alabama Prisons, but the Same Responses from the Alabama Department of Corrections By Eddie Burkhalter The rising death count inside Alabama’s prisons continues to claim the lives of young Alabamians and devastate families left behind. Last month alone, an estimated 15 incarcerated people died from homicide, suicide, […]
Alabama Appleseed provides care and support to individuals formerly sentenced to life without parole under the Habitual Felony Offender Act through its Second Chance Program. Our clients are between 50-80 years old and previously served 20-40 years for crimes that involved no physical injury. Of individuals who receive our services, all are living independently, either […]
My name is Ella Cobbs, and I am so incredibly excited to be interning with Alabama Appleseed this summer! I am a rising senior at Sewanee: The University of the South pursuing an English major, minors in Politics and French, and a certificate in Civic and Global Leadership. I have lived in Birmingham, Alabama for […]
My name is Eddie Burkhalter and I’m excited to join Alabama Appleseed as a researcher. I’ve long been an admirer of the work done here, and I’m humbled to be a part of this team. I grew up in Georgia, and lived in the Kennesaw and Marietta area for most of my time there. I […]
I’m Justin McCleskey and I’m excited to start my internship with Alabama Appleseed over the summer! I completed my bachelors degree in political science at the University of Alabama and am in my second year as a master’s student in public administration. As a first generation college student, I have to admit I stumbled into academia rather […]
Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice
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