Man On Death Row For Almost 30 Years Will Be Freed
A man on Alabama’s death row for almost 30 years will be freed tomorrow Friday, April 3, after a judge dismissed the case. Prosecutors say the evidence that tied the man to two murders is not reliable.
Anthony Ray Hinton was convicted and sentenced to death for killing two managers at Birmingham fast-food restaurants during two separate robberies in 1985. His conviction largely rested on eyewitness testimony from a survivor and six bullets found at the crime scenes linked to a gun found in Hinton’s home. But after new testing this year, prosecutors found they could no longer conclusively say those bullets came from that gun.
The U.S. Supreme Court granted Hinton a new trial last year, saying he had an inadequate defense. That’s because his lawyer used a low-cost ballistics expert who was easily discredited on cross-examination.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
