Connect with us

Alabama

Alabama legislators to look at victim notification system for county jails | Chattanooga Times Free Press

Published

on

Alabama legislators to look at victim notification system for county jails | Chattanooga Times Free Press


State officials gathered for the first in a series of meetings to investigate how to create a victim notification system for individuals incarcerated at county jails.

The Joint Interim Study Commission on Local and County Victim Notification, which held an organizational meeting Tuesday at the Alabama statehouse, comes after the state established a victim notification system for those in the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections.

“We really need to understand what is currently being done in these counties, what needs to be done in the future, and if the state is part of that funding solution or does that fall back on individual counties,” said Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, who was elected chair of the commission. Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, was elected vice chair. Reynolds and Albritton, respectively, chair the Alabama House and Senate general fund budget committees.

(READ MORE: Alabama governor signs bill barring diversity, equity and inclusion programs)

Advertisement

The state has a contract with a private firm to have the Victim Information and Notification Everyday system provide notices to crime victims on the status of perpetrators within the criminal justice system, but that system tracks only those within the custody of the department of corrections and the bureau of pardons & paroles.

The terms of the contract, including the name of the company and the cost, were not disclosed. A message was left with the Alabama attorney general’s office and the parole bureau Tuesday seeking comment on the contract.

The state had a system to track the status of those held in the custody of county jails, but it was no longer valid when the state initiated its own system for tracking people within the state’s custody. The state is identifying possible avenues for replacing the system.

Some counties also had a contract with Notification Everyday to provide notifications to victims of crimes within county jurisdictions. Since the state had a contract with the company providing the service, the company extended the service free of charge to counties without a contract.

(READ MORE: Alabama task force charts five-year plan to tackle Alzheimer’s disease)

Advertisement

As a result, some counties pay for the system, but others do not. According to a map provided to the committee on Tuesday, many of the counties with system are concentrated in North Central Alabama. Many of those without the system are isolated to the southern part of the state.

Many Black Belt counties operate without such a system. This includes Dallas, Marengo, Hale, Greene, Elmore, Macon and Montgomery counties.

“So the problem is now, what created this, is the state doing its own system, which is working very well for it is doing for the state, but it is not doing local notification for those inmates coming out of our county jails,” Reynolds said.

The state unveiled its automatic victim notification system at a March news conference that featured several law enforcement agencies and representatives from the court system.

In 2011, the legislature passed a bill by former Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, who now oversees the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, that created the Automated Victim Notification System and Implementation Task Force. The task force was charged with creating an integrated victim notification system.

Advertisement

In 2015, the legislature passed a bill that granted early release for specific people in custody of the corrections department based on the amount of time they were in custody and on different levels. That bill only applied to those who would be incarcerated after that 2015 bill passed.

In 2021, lawmakers passed legislation sponsored by Rep. Jim Hill, R-Odenville, that made the 2015 bill retroactive.

Many, however, were not released on time after the Alabama attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit against Corrections Commissioner John Hamm seeking to delay the release of inmates until victims were notified.

The revamped system provides updates on the status of individuals in the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections and pardons and paroles — not people who are held within county jails.

“Today, it is working,” said Maury Mitchell, the state crime information director, at the meeting Tuesday. “It takes the original bill by Mr. Ward. So it is a notification required by pardons and paroles and corrections when someone comes out or when several triggers happen.”

Advertisement

Members of the committee will continue to study the issue for the next several months. The study commission has not set its next meeting date.

Read more at AlabamaReflector.com.



Source link

Alabama

3 Alabama players who helped their draft stock at 2026 NFL combine

Published

on

3 Alabama players who helped their draft stock at 2026 NFL combine



Each player had a pivotal role on the Crimson Tide in 2025.

Alabama had a multitude of former players who performed at an elite level at the NFL combine this past weekend.

Former Alabama star quarterback Ty Simpson was among those who put his talents on full display in Indianapolis, as Simpson continues to emerge as a top quarterback prospect available in April’s draft.

Advertisement

Numerous Crimson Tide stars on both sides of the football were able to have an excellent showing at the combine as well, with each playmaker a vital component to the Tide’s success in 2025.

Here are three Alabama players who helped their draft stock rise at the NFL combine.

Ty Simpson, Quarterback

Simpson is widely regarded as the best quarterback prospect available outside of Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. The talented redshirt junior put on an absolute show at the NFL combine, as Simpson delivered multiple perfect throws and put his talents on full display throughout Saturday’s events.

The former Alabama star is a candidate to potentially shine day one in his campaign in the NFL, as Simpson’s draft stock continues to rise prior to April.

Jam Miller, Running Back

Advertisement

Miller is an extremely fast and athletic running back, despite struggling in the Tide’s backfield last season. The star running back recorded an impressive 4.43u 40-yard dash time, as Miller could very easily shine in the NFL next season with consistent playing time.

Miller was nothing short of elite throughout his entire performance at the combine in Indianapolis, as the former Tide running back continues to rise in a multitude of draft rankings around the football world.

Kadyn Proctor, Offensive Tackle

Proctor played a crucial role on Alabama’s offensive line last season. The star lineman reportedly slimmed down prior to the NFL combine, as Proctor displayed elite speed and athleticism throughout Sunday’s combine in Indianapolis.

Proctor is widely expected to be a mid-to-late first round selection in April, as the talented lineman’s efforts during the combine could quickly begin to work in Proctor’s favor during next month’s draft.

Advertisement

The 2026 NFL draft will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania starting on April 23, as each Crimson Tide star will look to shine throughout their rookie campaign in the NFL.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.





Source link

Continue Reading

Alabama

Husband, 19, fatally shot wife, 24, himself at Alabama hospital moments after welcoming their first child

Published

on

Husband, 19, fatally shot wife, 24, himself at Alabama hospital moments after welcoming their first child


A husband fatally shot his wife before turning the gun on himself at an Alabama hospital just moments after they welcomed their first child on Sunday.

Kynath Terry Jr., 19, gunned down 24-year-old Precious Johnson before fatally shooting himself inside the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital around 9:30 p.m. Sunday night, WTVM 13 reported.

Johnson delivered a healthy baby just before she was murdered. It’s not immediately clear if the baby was present during the shooting, but police said that Terry and Johnson were the only ones injured.

Kynath Terry Jr., 19, shot 24-year-old Precious Johnson at an Alabama hospital after she gave birth to their child. WVTM

Terry’s mother told the outlet that the couple were having some marital issues leading up to Johnson’s due date, but nothing that made her fear her son would become violent.

Advertisement

She told the outlet that Terry completed Army National Guard training before tying the knot with Johnson.

She noted that Johnson didn’t want Terry’s side of the family at the hospital for her child’s birth, but it’s unclear if anyone from the mother-to-be’s own family was there.

The hospital was plunged into a lockdown “out of an abundance of caution” while police investigated reports of a shooting. It wasn’t lifted until hours later when they determined there was “no active threat to patients, team members or the public,” the outlet reported.

The Homewood Police Department described the tragedy as “an apparent murder-suicide and is domestic in nature.”

Terry completed Army National Guard training before marrying Johnson. WVTM
The shooting sent Brookwood Baptist Medical Center into an hours-long lockdown. Google Maps

Danne Howard, the president of the Alabama Hospital Association, told the outlet that the chilling attack “was an isolated incident” unlike anything she’d encountered during her three decades working in the state.

Advertisement

Howard said, in the wake of the tragedy, the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital would undergo a security overhaul implementing “lessons learned” from a mandated after-action report.

Just three months ago, in a town six miles outside of Homewood, a beloved sports reporter was fatally shot by her husband before taking his own life. Their 3-year-old son, who was unharmed, led his grandfather to his parents’ bodies.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Alabama

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

Published

on

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran


play

The United States and Israel-led attacks on Iran are having an impact in Central Alabama.

The military actions that began Saturday targets the military forces of Iran and the nation’s ability to build nuclear weapons.

Advertisement

In Montgomery, Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex have stepped up security so that all entry points will have a 100 percent ID check, the bases said on social media. The Trusted Traveler Program is suspended, which allowed Department of Defense identification holders to vouch for passengers.

Visitors without base access will have to go through the visitor center to get a pass.

Central Alabama residents react to the Iran attacks

For Travis Jackson of Montgomery, the attacks bring back memories, bad memories. He served one tour in Iraq from 2007-2008 with the U.S. Army. He attained the rank of sergeant before leaving the service and has worked the last 10 years as a community activist and diversity, equality and inclusion coordinator.

“I had a flashback of being overseas again,” he said when he first heard news of the attack. “The first thing I thought of was corporate greed. Of yet again seeing what has transpired throughout the years of any war overseas.”

Advertisement

He feels the attacks are a mistake.

“It’s going to be detrimental to the economy, notably with the increase in oil prices,” he said.

Removing the current regime in Iran and establishing a more western friendly country could improve hopes for a more stable Middle East, said Amy Stephens of Elmore County.

Advertisement

“I don’t know if there will ever be peace there,” Stephens said. “But Iran has been the causing trouble over there for almost 50 years.”

Ray Roberts of Prattville served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990 and 1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait. He served in an ordinance company with the Alabama Army National Guard. He was a sergeant when he left the service and now works as a draftsman at a Montgomery manufacturing plant.

“It wasn’t a surprise,” Roberts said of the attacks. “President Trump had said they were coming. When he says something like that, he means it. I am glad we are working with Israel so it’s not just the United States. I wonder if Europe and some of the other Gulf nations will join the attacks.”

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending