ACLU of Alabama Releases Report Criticizing Alabama Lawmakers
By Rena Abdusalam
ALABAMA – The ACLU of Alabama has released a report during the 2023 session of the Alabama legislature that criticized Alabama lawmakers’ criminal justice efforts that focused on enforcement and incarceration instead of rehabilitation and release.
Named the 2023 Statehouse-to-Prison Pipeline Report, the report estimates 16 percent of the bills introduced during the session could possibly increase the population of inmates in the state’s prisons.
“The state of Alabama continues to invest in harsher sentencing, overpolicing, and surveillance that (1) fuels our overcrowded prisons and (2) damages public safety. Addressing social problems exclusively through the criminal punishment system hurts us all,” said JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama.
“The report noted bills introduced during the session that increased criminal penalties for loitering on the public rights-of-way; reduced the amount of credits that people in prison could receive for good behavior and enhanced penalties for those who commit crimes while part of a criminal enterprise,” reported Alabama Reflector writer, Ralph Chapoco.
According to the report, the bills that increased penalties for loitering in streets and reduced the amount of time reductions an incarcerated person can receive for good behavior both passed the Legislature.
In addition, the report states Alabama legislators approved bills that criminalized absentee ballot assistance.
“I think what we have seen with this past legislative session is a continuation of prior years where our legislators are focused on punishment as a solution to the social problems we have in the state,” said legal director at the ACLU of Alabama, Alison Mollman.
This is the third year the ACLU of Alabama has published their Statehouse-to-Prison Pipeline Report.
In 2021, the ACLU of Alabama estimated that 10.6 percent of the bills introduced during the 2021 session potentially increased the number of people increased by the state. Legislators introduced 873 bills in the 2022 session, with 17 percent increasing the prison pipeline.
The report’s researchers defined a set of criteria to evaluate this year’s considered bills through a sequence of yes or no questions, flagging legislation that increased penalties for certain conducts or expanded the authority of law enforcement.
The investigators also took into consideration bills that were believed to target people who are economically vulnerable, such as low-income individuals and those with unstable financial situations.
“Among the most notable bills is the criminal enterprise bill, SB 143, sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road and Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, chair of the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee,” wrote Chapoco.
The report states that Senate Bill 143 created harsher penalties for individuals who committed a crime and those that are part of a criminal enterprise.
According to the report, if a felony was committed by a member of a criminal enterprise, the bill raised the Class C felonies, crimes punishable by one to 10 years in prison, to Class B felonies, crimes punishable by a sentence of two to 20 years.
In addition, the report states that a conviction carries a minimum 25-year sentence if the original offense is a Class A felony, which is punishable by 10-99 years in prison.
“Many law enforcement officials supported the bill, believing the harsher penalties would act as a deterrent,” continued Chapoco.
“I sat in on it, and I think it is something that is a need,” said Montgomery County Sheriff, Derrick Cunningham. “Any kind of legislation we got that can curb group violence upon the citizens here in Alabama, we need any kind of help that we can get to deter those who think it is alright to carry out violence being part of a group.”
Cunningham noted he did not know how effective SB 143 would be.
“I guess I am waiting until the first case goes through the system,” he stated. “To see what kind of punishment will rain down on them. Right now, I can’t really gauge it because I haven’t seen it being utilized yet.”
The legal director at the ACLU of Alabama also expressed worries over language in the bill that identifies members of criminal enterprises through outlined criteria. Individuals must meet three of the 10 classifications to be considered a gang member, such as flashing specific signs, having a particular tattoo, and being seen with someone who is a known gang member.
Mollman said, “When we are attaching extra sentences and consequences to people based on how they dress, based on hand signs they use or who their friends are or who they spend time with, we are putting a lot of arbitrary power in the hands of prosecutors and our criminal legal system.”
“The Legislature also passed SB1, sponsored by Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, in response to the death of Bibb County Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Johnson. Johnson was shot and killed while pursuing a motor vehicle last June,” said Chapoco.
SB1 caused inmates to be split into categories to determine how much good time credits they earn and do not automatically earn credits, meaning they have to work their way up through the tiers through good conduct, according to the report.
The ACLU of Alabama notes that with Weaver’s legislation, inmates in the different classes now can earn fewer days off their sentence for every specific amount of days served.
The report observed that SB1 limits an inmate in the first tier to get 30 days off their sentence for every 30 days served, compared to the original 75 days off.
This continues for the rest of the categories, with inmates in the second tier having 15 days off for every 30 days served, compared to the original 40 for every 30 days, and inmates in the third tier having 5 days off for every 30 days served, compared to the earnings of 20 days.
“Austin Patrick Hall, indicted on four counts of murder and attempted murder in the shooting, has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental defect. Hall had been released early from DOC custody for a previous conviction, despite a previous escape attempt that should have wiped out his good time credits. It is not clear why DOC did not remove them,” continued Chapoco.
The report also emphasized the state’s Legislature almost passing House Bill 209, which was sponsored by Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville. HB 209 would have provided criminal penalties for people helping others with their absentee ballots.
“Kiel had wanted to charge people with a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, who fill out or deliver an absentee ballot to another person,” wrote Chapoco.
“People could be charged with a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for accepting money to complete a ballot, and a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, for paying someone to fill out a ballot,” continued Chapoco.
The report stated the bill, passed out by the Senate State Governmental Affairs Committee, created the penalty for helping someone complete an absentee ballot to a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail.
However, the bill did not pass the Legislature, but an updated adaptation has been filed for the 2024 session, which is scheduled to begin in February.
A House Bill, HB 24, sponsored by Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road, also generates a second or subsequent arrest for loitering on a public right-of-way a Class C misdemeanor, making it punishable by up to three months in jail and a $500 fine.
“Bills that Mollman and others at the ACLU of Alabama supported failed to get any traction,” noted Chapoco.
“Neither HB 16, which would have established guidelines for the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles to follow, nor House Bill 14, which would have required unanimous jury verdicts, both sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, made it out of committee,” continued Chapoco.
According to Mollman, the net effect of these bills worsens the overcrowding within Alabama’s prisons. According to the Alabama Department of Corrections, the state prisons in September had 20,361 people in a system designed for 12,115, with a capacity of 168 percent.
“The overcrowding has been cited as a major contributor to violence in state prisons. The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the state over the conditions in the prisons,” said Chapoco.
“We have a prison system that is on fire,” Mollman said. “And we have a Legislature that continues to shut down the exits and block down the doors.”
“Alabamians deserve a legislature that passes bills to fund our public schools, expand access to quality healthcare, and improve their lives—not a legislature focused on funneling them into overcrowded and deadly prisons,” ended Gilchrist.
The full report can be found here.
