Restrictions on absentee ballot help in Alabama are being challenged in a lawsuit
The Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and other groups are plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in federal court. They say the statute disenfranchises voters, including senior citizens and disabled voters, who may need assistance in the absentee voting process.
Alabama enacts new restrictions on absentee ballot requests
Alabama has placed new restrictions on assistance with absentee ballot requests, making it illegal to return another person's ballot application and making it a felony to pay someone to distribute or collect applications.
Alabama state lawmaker Rogers to plead guilty to federal charges
The charges are related to what federal prosecutors described as a kickback scheme that diverted money from a state fund intended to pay for community projects in Jefferson County.
Alabama governor signs legislation protecting IVF providers from legal liability into law
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill after it was approved in a late-night session by lawmakers scrambling to address a wave of criticism after services were halted at some of the state's largest fertility clinics.
Alabama’s redrawn US House map spurs primary runoffs and ousts an incumbent on Super Tuesday
Alabama voters shook up the state’s congressional delegation Tuesday, throwing out one Republican incumbent and sending four candidates to runoffs in a district redrawn by a federal court to give Black voters greater opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.
Sarah Stewart wins Republican race to lead Alabama Supreme Court, weeks after frozen embryo ruling
Stewart defeated Bryan Taylor, a former state senator and legal adviser to two governors, to secure the GOP nomination. She will face Circuit Judge Greg Griffin, a Democrat from Montgomery, in November.
Kamala Harris leads Bloody Sunday memorial as marchers’ voices ring out for voting rights
Harris joined those gathered at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where voting rights activists were beaten back by law enforcement officers in 1965. The vice president praised the marchers' bravery for engaging in a defining moment of the civil rights struggle.
Alabama lawmakers rush to get IVF services restarted
Facing public pressure to get IVF services resumed in the state, both chambers of the Alabama Legislature advanced legislation that would extend lawsuit protections to clinics.
Alabama IVF patients describe heartbreak, anger after ruling
The panel of patients came in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that called into question the future of some fertility treatments in the state.
Alabama seeks to carry out second execution using controversial nitrogen gas method
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall's office asked the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to set an execution date for Alan Eugene Miller. The state said Miller’s execution would be carried out using nitrogen.
UAB puts pause on IVF in wake of ruling saying frozen embryos are children
The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system said in a statement that it must evaluate whether its patients or doctors could face criminal charges or punitive damages for undergoing IVF treatments.
Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are ‘children’ under state law
The decision, issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic, brought a rush of warnings from advocates who said it would have sweeping implications for fertility treatments.
Alabama lawmakers push sweeping gambling bill that would allow lottery and casinos
Alabama is one of few states without a state lottery, after lawmakers in 1999 rejected a proposal to allow one. And unlike neighboring Mississippi, the state has been resistant to full-fledged casinos with table games and slot machines.
Ivey says ‘now is the time’ for a statewide vote on lottery and gambling bills
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called Tuesday night for the creation of a limited school voucher program and announced support for two controversial measures before lawmakers this year: gambling legislation and absentee ballot restrictions.
Alabama executes a man with nitrogen gas, the first time the new method has been used
Officials said Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m. at an Alabama prison after breathing pure nitrogen gas through a face mask to cause oxygen deprivation.
Federal court says Alabama can carry out first nitrogen gas execution
A divided panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Kenneth Eugene Smith’s request for an injunction to stop his execution by nitrogen hypoxia Thursday night. Smith’s lawyers, who have argued the state is trying to make him the test subject for an experimental execution method, are expected to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Alabama calls nitrogen execution method painless and humane, but critics are raising doubts
The Alabama attorney general's office told federal appeals court judges last week that nitrogen hypoxia is "the most painless and humane method of execution known to man." But what exactly Kenneth Eugene Smith will feel after the warden switches on the gas is unknown, some doctors and critics say.
Alabama plans to carry out first nitrogen gas execution. How will it work and what are the risks?
Kenneth Eugene Smith, who survived the state’s previous attempt to put him to death by lethal injection in 2022, is scheduled to be put to death Thursday by nitrogen hypoxia. If carried out, it would the first new method of execution since lethal injection was introduced in 1982.
Alabama can enforce a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, appeals court rules
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had previously ruled that the injunction should be vacated, but the decision had been effectively on hold for more than 18 months while families with transgender children asked the full appellate court to reconsider the decision.
Federal judge says Alabama can carry out nation’s 1st execution using nitrogen gas
U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker rejected Alabama inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith’s request for an injunction to stop his scheduled Jan. 25 execution by nitrogen hypoxia.
Judge weighs request to stop nation’s first execution by nitrogen, in Alabama
Attorneys for Kenneth Eugene Smith are asking a judge to block his Jan. 25 execution by nitrogen hypoxia. They argued that the method violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment and said the mask would interfere with his ability to pray with his spiritual adviser.
Alabama’s plan for execution by nitrogen gas is ‘hostile to religion,’ lawsuit says
The Rev. Jeff Hood, who plans to enter the death chamber to minister to Kenneth Eugene Smith, said the Alabama Department of Corrections asked him to sign a form acknowledging the risks and agreeing to stay 3 feet away from Smith's gas mask.
Alabama inmate executed for the shooting death of man in 1993 robbery
Casey McWhorter was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for his role in the robbery and shooting death of Edward Lee Williams on Feb. 18, 1993.
Pastor’s suicide brings grief, warnings of the dangers of outing amid erosion of LGBTQ+ rights
Copeland he took his own life two days after a conservative news site exposed social media posts where he appeared in women’s clothing, a wig and makeup.
Alabama sets January execution date using nitrogen gas
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday announced a Jan. 25 execution date for Kenneth Eugene Smith using the new method.
Alabama can execute inmate with nitrogen gas, state’s highest court says
The justices granted the state attorney general's request for an execution warrant for Kenneth Eugene Smith, one of two men convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of Elizabeth Sennett in northwestern Alabama.
Judges aiming to give Black voters more influence in Alabama set to redraw congressional districts
U.S. District Judge Stanley Marcus, noting a ruling will be issued “shortly,” said the three-judge panel is aware of the time constraints posed by elections next year when the state's seven U.S. House seats will be on the ballot. The court could rule as early as this week.
State Rep. John Rogers charged with obstruction of justice
The indictment accuses Rogers, a Democrat from Birmingham, and his assistant of offering additional grant money as a bribe to persuade a person to give false information to federal agents who were investigating possible kickbacks that prosecutors said were paid to Rogers' assistant.
Court appointee proposes Alabama congressional districts to provide representation to Black voters
The three proposals all create a second district where Black voters comprise a majority of the voting age population or close to it — something that state lawmakers refused to do when they drew lines this summer.
Supreme Court to decide whether Alabama can postpone drawing new congressional districts
The outcome could determine what map the state uses in the 2024 elections and whether the high court will revisit arguments over the role of race in redistricting.
Jackson says we must own hardest chapters of US history during 1963 church bombing remembrance
Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court, spoke at the 60th anniversary of the Sept. 15, 1963 bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church. She said the country should celebrate the great strides that have been made since 1963 but that there is still work to do.
On 60th anniversary of church bombing, victim’s sister, suspect’s daughter urge people to stop hate
Lisa McNair's sister Denise was one of the girls who lost their lives. Tammie Fields’ father was questioned as a possible suspect in the church bombing but never charged. Decades after the bombing, the two women met at a Black History Month event and forged a seemingly unlikely connection and friendship.
