Bryan Stevenson | Alabama Public Radio

US lawyer depicted in 'Just Mercy' wins 'alternative Nobel'

By Associated Press • Oct 1, 2020

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama human rights attorney whose work fighting racial injustice was depicted in the Hollywood movie “Just Mercy” has won an honor sometimes referred to as the “alternative Nobel."

Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson was named a recipient of the annual Right Livelihood Award on Thursday. The award is presented annually by the Swedish Right Livelihood Foundation.

"Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption" By: Bryan Stevenson

By Don Noble • Mar 24, 2020

“Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption”
Author: Bryan Stevenson
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Pages: 336
Price: $28.00 (Hardcover)

I am embarrassed to say I am just now reading Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy,” but I am really glad I’ve read it. Every American should read this book.

Alabama attorney subject of upcoming films

(MONTGOMERY, AL)-- An Alabama Attorney will be the focus of a documentary on HBO. Bryan Stevenson is the Alabama attorney who founded the Equal Justice Initiative and he is the subject of two new films.

One is called “True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight for Equality” and it will premiere on HBO June 26. The documentary details Stevenson's work in the criminal justice system on behalf of poor and other incarcerated people.

Supreme Court Rejects Madison Appeal

By Alex AuBuchon & Associated Press • Jan 22, 2018

The Supreme Court has paved the way for a death row inmate to be put to death on Thursday, despite his lawyers pleading he doesn’t currently remember his crime or even understand his looming execution.

Attorneys for Vernon Madison petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday asking them to review his case and whether executing him would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Justices rejected that request this morning without issuing a written explanation.

Prison Reform: Alabama's overcrowding problem

By MacKenzie Bates • Oct 14, 2016

Alabama’s prison system has been in the news a lot this year, and not for good reasons. Inmate riots, as well as allegations of mismanagement and corruption have pointed out plenty of problems. The Alabama Public Radio news team has spent the past several months examining what happens as people go into the state’s prison system and what happens when they come out. Today, APR’s MacKenzie Bates hears from critics of Alabama’s prisons are run and how plans to fix things may just throw money at the problem…

Obama Recruits Montgomery Based Group Leader, State Unemployment Down

By Stan Ingold • Dec 19, 2014

Alabama's unemployment rate is down to 6 percent. The preliminary jobless rate announced Friday represents the state's best unemployment numbers in more than six years. But the state is still slightly above the U.S. unemployment rate of 5.8 percent.

Governor Robert Bentley's office says the November jobless rate is an improvement from October, when the rate was 6.3 percent. It's also better than the numbers a year ago.