WBHM Politics: Working in Alabama’s Prisons
The list of problems facing Alabama’s prison system is long. Facilities are aging and overcrowded. There’s a federal lawsuit over inadequate mental healthcare for inmates. In the midst of all that are men and women who wake up each day and go to work in Alabama’s prisons. The experiences of employees can sometimes be missed as state leaders, policymakers and the public debate how to address the prison system’s issues.
We hear one view from Captain Joe Tew. He retired from the Department of Corrections and then returned last year to work part-time at the Donaldson Correctional Facility. Also on the podcast is journalist Tom Gordon. He wrote about corrections officers for a story published by Birmingham Watch and B-Metro.
Listen here or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play or NPR One.
Young offenders are often denied credit for “dead time” behind bars
Juvenile detention systems often deny young offenders credit for the time they spend waiting behind bars
From bromance to breakup: How Elon Musk and Donald Trump blew up
The blow up marks the end of an alliance between the president and the billionaire that lasted far longer than many observers expected.
Fans drive huge Nintendo Switch 2 launch; others play the waiting game
Criticized for its high cost but still selling out nearly everywhere, Nintendo's sequel to their popular Switch console releases as a trade war squeezes the video game industry.
Israel says it’s arming clans to fight Hamas in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the government was arming factions in the Gaza Strip to combat Hamas, after accusations from an opposition politician.
Trump’s travel ban includes Afghanistan, where thousands await U.S. resettlement
President Trump's travel ban on a dozen countries includes Afghanistan. Since American troops left in August of 2021, many Afghans have already arrived in the U.S. but many more are still waiting.
After his mother’s death, Ocean Vuong wrote his way out of grief
Vuong's new novel, The Emperor of Gladness, is the first he's written, from start to finish, since his mother died in 2019. He says writing it was a way to honor her memory.
