Prisoners

400 Alabama inmates to be released early under 2021 law

The sentencing law sends prisoners to supervised release several months before their sentences are set to end.

Russian separatists release 2 U.S. veterans as part of a prisoner exchange

Alex Drueke and Andy Huynh went missing in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border June 9. They had traveled to Ukraine on their own and became friends because both are from Alabama.

Inside Alabama’s Prisons, Fear Of A Coronavirus Outbreak

Alabama corrections officials recently reported the first inmate death related to COVID-19. With several prisoners and staff members testing positive for the virus, those inside Alabama prisons worry this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Alabama ACLU Proposes Plan to Cut Mass Incarceration

Earlier this month the American Civil Liberties Union announced an ambitious goal of releasing 50% of Alabama prisoners by the year 2025 through a report aimed at tackling mass incarceration.

INTERVIEW: Rick Vest, Counseling Coordinator Of Two-Year College For Prisoners

J.F. Ingram State is a unique part of Alabama's two-year college system because one hundred percent of its students are incarcerated. Its new pilot program at Julia Tutwiler Prison focuses on life skills, not just vocational training. As part of our prison-reporting partnership with Alabama Media Group's Investigative Journalism Lab, WBHM's Dan Carsen spoke with Ingram State Counseling Coordinator Rick Vest outside Ingram's Tutwiler campus. Among other things, Vest says learning job skills isn't enough.