Ralph Chapoco

3 days ago | alabamareflector.com | Ralph Chapoco

Elected officials and criminal justice reform advocates will continue their efforts to reduce the recidivism rate for people who were formerly incarcerated. The Alabama Reentry Task Force convened the first meeting on Tuesday because of a joint resolution enacted by the Legislature authorizing it to build on the efforts from the Reentry Alabama Commission by implementing strategies to reduce the barriers that people face once they are released from prison.

3 days ago | yahoo.com | Ralph Chapoco

Members of the Alabama’s Reentry Task Force prepare to convene their first meeting on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse to find way to implement the recommendations made in a report from the Reentry Alabama Commission to reduce the state’s recidivism rate. (Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector)Elected officials and criminal justice reform advocates will continue their efforts to reduce the recidivism rate for people who were formerly incarcerated.

5 days ago | alabamareflector.com | Jerod MacDonald-Evoy |Ralph Chapoco

by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, Alabama Reflector June 2, 2025 After Donald Trump tapped him as his running mate, J.D. Vance crisscrossed the country and gave speech after speech in which he, like Trump, demonized immigrants and promised to mount a mass deportation effort if elected. The Boeing 737 that he used to travel around the nation is now being used to deport immigrants. Records show that it has made at least 16 flights to Central and South American countries to deport immigrants this year.

6 days ago | timesfreepress.com | Ralph Chapoco

The battles over library content continue throughout Alabama. But two bills that could have affected how libraries operate failed to move in the Legislature's 2025 session. The battles over library books began in Alabama in 2023 after a parent using the Autauga-Prattville Library complained about a book in the children's section that had inclusive pronouns. Similar fights have erupted all over the state.

1 week ago | alabamareflector.com | Ralph Chapoco

Despite spending a great deal of time on the issue in the 2025 session, the Alabama Legislature only passed two bills targeting those without appropriate authorization to reside in the country. SB 63, sponsored by Sen. Lance Bell, R-Pell City, requires law enforcement in Alabama to take fingerprints and DNA samples of people without the documentation to live in the U.S. and submit them to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Alabama Department of Forensic Science.