Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/tag/alabama/)
A judge on Wednesday reduced from 55 years to 30 years the prison sentence of a 24-year-old Alabaman, arrested at 15 and convicted at 19 for his involvement in a 2015 burglary resulting in police fatally shooting a 16-year-old participant in that home break-in.
In a hearing set for Monday, an Alabama man, convicted when he was 15 for his part in a burglary resulting in one of his teen accomplices being fatally shot by police, will ask for his prison term to be significantly reduced.
LaKeith Smith, under Alabama’s felony murder law allowing prosecutors to charge a person considered an accomplice to a crime, was faulted for his friend’s death. No evidence that the teen fired or possessed a gun was presented during the trial. Smith, now 23, should never have been in that group of boys, his mother said, making trouble with them. He also should not be serving a 55-year sentence in a maximum-security prison...
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Black freedom fighters in Alabama once changed this country.
Speaking onstage in Kelly Ingram Park on Juneteenth, Celestine Hood, a woman who witnessed radical change during the Civil Rights Movement, said Alabamians had the power to do it again.
Hood was a child in this park in May 1963, one of the young students participating in a demonstration for racial equality when Police Chief Eugene “Bull” Connor ordered attack dogs and firehoses on protesters. Images of children enduring that brutality enraged the world, sparking international support for the movement.
In May of this year, a video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killing George Floyd, an unarmed Black man in custody for allegedly spending counterfeit money, shocked the world again. Protests erupted in big cities and rural towns, demanding an end to police and vigilante killings of Black people.
“We had dogs and firehoses,” Hood said. “You’ve got tear gas. You’ve got rubber bullets. It’s the same fight.”
The crowd of a few hundred — Black, brown and white, young and old —nodded, raised their fists.
JACKSONVILLE, Alabama — When Marcus Wood was a kid, he said, the neighborhood police hosted barbecues for his community, handing out sticker badges, teaching him and his friends to fish. “I grew up in what you would call the projects,” Wood said. “Those cops influenced my life in a very positive way.”
Today Wood, 34, is the first Black police chief in Jacksonville, a small university town. A native of Weaver, Alabama, he previously worked as an Army police officer, a National Guardsman, a corrections officer, a fugitive investigator and a trainer for the state’s police academy at his alma mater, Jacksonville State University.
This year, as Black Lives Matter protests assembled in cities around the world in the wake of Minnesota police killing George Floyd, an unarmed Black man suspected of using a counterfeit $20 bill, protesters gathered for days in Jacksonville to discuss police brutality and racism in the justice system. At the time, in June, Wood told a local TV news station: “We appreciate [protesters] being a force for us, because we don’t want bad cops in law enforcement.” The comment came with the announcement of a citywide curfew.
Just like teenagers across Alabama and the nation, Frazier is trying to finish a school year without the grounding of his usual routine — in the middle of a global public health crisis. While it’s rare for young people to have life-threatening reactions to coronavirus, that doesn’t mean they aren’t struggling through the disruptions in daily life. Being away from the routine and safety of school, extracurriculars, work and friends can be dangerous for young people’s mental and physical well-being.
This time of year usually marks year-end celebrations and summer preparations for youth. But with regular traditions like prom and graduation on hold, and with many jobs in limbo, teenagers in Alabama aren’t sure what to expect for the coming months.
As coronavirus continues to disrupt daily life, anti-gun violence advocates worry the communities hit hardest will see spikes in shootings.
The best time to seek help for anyone who finds themselves contemplating suicide is now, according to mental health professionals.
Tucked in the Cheaha foothills of eastern Alabama, Ranburne is home to 409 people.