This Week Injustice- April 28, 2024

Welcome Home Mr. George edition

I’m starting this week’s injustice news roundup with a win. 85-year old Robert George is now home with his family after 31-years in prison.

Mr. George’s release on medical parole should not be controversial. Creating pathways out of prison for elderly people who are no threat to public safety is a no brainer, but in Alabama, it required a mighty fight by lots of people.

Mr. George was sent to prison over 30 years ago for an accidental shooting. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, but the possibility of parole in Alabama is theoretical only. Last year 92 percent of qualified people, like Mr. George, were denied release by Alabama’s 3-person parole board.

In a 2-1 vote, the board granted Mr. George release from prison at a hearing earlier this month. The hearing to decide his case went on and on for over two hours, most hearings are settled in a matter of minutes. Attorney Lauren Faraino answered question after question from parole board chair Leigh Gwathney, who seemed incredulous that the mother of the victim killed in Mr. George’s criminal case had forgiven him.

Lauren had been working hard on Mr. George’s case for over a year. She heard about the case from another incarcerated person, who goes by Swift Justice. Swift told her, “If you can get anyone out of prison, let it be Mr. George.”

You can hear more of Lauren discussing Mr. George’s case with Swift Justice in this episode of their podcast.

Congratulations to everyone who worked on Mr. George’s behalf, and may this be a hopeful sign of more justice, mercy and redemption at the parole board.

Welcome home Mr. George! I hope the rest of your days are joyful. Now on to the rest of the news from this past week.

ADOC/DEATH PENALTY 

An op-ed cowritten by a former correctional officer and a formerly incarcerated citizen sounds the alarm about ADOC’s continued staffing crisis, with a staffing shortage now estimated at 61%. 

An officer at Kilby prison was arrested & charged with trying to smuggle marijuana and suboxone into the prison. Some correctional facilities provide replacement therapy drugs like suboxone, but ADOC still treats it like prison contraband. 

The sign for the prison under construction says “Investing in Alabama’s Future.” Alabama Daily News gets a tour and updates on construction of the $1.3 billion mega-prison in Elmore County. 

A powerful op-ed by a former juror who voted to send Toforest Johnson to death row. Monique Hicks writes, “My heart aches thinking of the things I did not know when I was a juror. I am haunted by the possibility that Alabama may someday soon execute Mr. Johnson, an innocent man." If you haven’t yet listened to the 8-part podcast series I produced on Mr. Johnson’s outrageous wrongful conviction, it’s called Earwitness and you can find it on all major podcast platforms. 

Gov. Kay Ivey, who claims she is pro-life, continues her death march by setting a July 18 execution date for Keith Edmund Gavin.  This comes after she recently set a May 30 execution date for Jamie Ray Mills. 

Sign the petition asking profiteers to stop supporting lethal injections. 

Three men died inside Donaldson prison last Saturday. Foul play not suspected, according to coroner. 

LEGISLATIVE SESSION 

A bill that would allow incarcerated people to virtually attend their own parole hearings advances in the Senate. It now moves to the House. Alabama is one of the only states in which the person being considered for parole is not allowed to participate in their own parole hearing. 

A bill advanced that would add a person’s health to the factors the parole board must consider when deciding whether to grant or deny parole. 

The House passed a bill that makes it a felony to retain organs after an autopsy without consent of family. This is in response to several families who say their loved ones died in ADOC and their bodies were returned missing organs. A federal lawsuit involving Brandon Dotson’s missing heart was dismissed this week. 

A House committee approved a bill that would allow local police to arrest people over suspected immigration violations. The legislation now heads to the House floor, but committee members acknowledged there are still several unanswered questions with the bill. 

Lawmakers advanced legislation that would allow librarians to be prosecuted under obscenity laws, removing them from exemption. This is the latest in a wave of Republican sponsored laws across the country targeting library content, and more specifically LGBTQ content. The President of Alabama’s library association predicts this new “law” will not hold up in federal court. 

The legislature gave final passage to a bill that increases punishment, including prison time, for illegally squatting in someone else’s home. The AL
Association of Realtors admitted that this isn’t a widespread problem in Alabama compared to other states, but said “we want to get ahead of the issue.” 

The commission that studied how to spend the $200 million opioid settlement money released a list of recommendations, and a bill has been filed on how to direct the first $30 million. 

The House judiciary committee approved a bill that would allow a parent to be charged if their child brings a gun to school. 

POLICE

A stalemate continues between Mobile’s suspended police chief and the mayor over the chief’s severance package. Chief Prine was put on leave April 9 over questions about contracting and improper administration of policing. The embattled chief is denying wrongdoing and calling for an investigation. Meanwhile a detailed, 100-page report finds damning allegations of racism against Mobile police. 

Alabama woman arrested at her home by Andalusia police after refusing to show them ID them has filed a federal lawsuit over what the suit argues was an unlawful, racially motivated arrest. 

Police shot and killed a man they say was fleeing them in a high speed pursuit that crossed county lines from Northport to Greene County. 

How the Decatur police killing of Stephen Perkins changed the city. Op-ed on how Decatur police are antagonizing their community. Perkins’ widow was among a group of protestors arrested recently.  The family of Perkins fought for months to get access to police body camera video of the killing, which is typical due to Alabama’s weak laws pertaining to such footage. A civl rights attorney has asked the feds to investigate Decatur police, who he says have “gone completely rogue.” 

Walker County’s sheriff says he wants to expand healthcare at the jail after a man died in custody after suffering a medical emergency. 

Worth a read: An argument for legalizing marijuana by journalists at the University of Alabama.