I am writing this on behalf of Thomas Bruce Barrett, an incarcerated individual in the state of Alabama. Tommy came from a large family from Roanoke, Alabama. He started working in the cotton mill at the age of 16 years old to pay board fees to provide for his family. He quit school with a 7th-grade education. Tommy was convicted for murder and assault II on June 2, 1985 despite the fact that it was self defense. His automatic identification number is 142717. He was 24 years old when he went to prison. Many things were left out of his case. For example, the victim's family was in law enforcement within the county he was charged in and within the county next to it. Therefore he was sentenced unfairly. As many of you know small towns will cover their backs and not abide by the code of ethics that they are sworn in by. Stating this Tommy Barrett has changed his life in many ways. 

 First, he got his GED while being in prison. He then went to trade school for communication electronics. After this, he was 1 out of 15 prisoners in the state of Alabama to graduate from Faulkner University with a bachelor’s in science and business administration and a minor in liberal arts. Tommy also speaks two languages which are English and Spanish. He works on a work camp for $2 a day. He has been in the newspaper for helping build the new baseball and softball fields at Eufaula city park. Tommy has worked at Alabama State University, Auburn Montgomery, Montgomery Coliseum, and many other public areas. In Greensboro, Alabama at the cattle ranch in Hale County, he was given a driver’s license. Tommy continues to teach many newly incarcerated people how to adjust to the prison social climate along with teaching them God’s word the Bible. He also even teaches a class on adult education at the prison to help other incarcerated people. Tommy has been involved with many different programs that the prison has offered over the years. Some of the programs were anger management, reality therapy, SAP, communication management, etc. Many of his records have been lost because most of the documents are written records and they have not been switched over to computer records correctly from the past. Tommy now is 63 years old and has served a sentence of 38 years in prison and will continue until he is finally eligible for parole. Yes, he has made mistakes however he has done everything in his power to change. He works in society every day on college campuses, city parks, and at the Montgomery Coliseum helping with public events. This should prove that he is not a danger to society. He has a job at the cattle stockyard for when he gets out of prison along with a house he will be able to live in. He has a daughter who is battling a severe health problem which is multiple sclerosis and she has 8 children. His hope is to be paroled and work to support her and her children and catch up on being a father and grandfather. He has a good family support system and he deserves to have a chance! 

Tommy has done many great things to show that he is rehabilitated. Despite Alabama horrendous prison conditions he still attempted to do every program that was available to him while being in prison. I think it is important to note that not many incarcerated people have tried as hard as him to work to get out of prison. Many people with a life with parole sentence often get this feeling of hopelessness that they will never get freedom. It doesn't give you very much faith in the system. Alabama is not paroling incarcerated people who have worked hard to better themselves. After a parolee murdered three people in 2018, Alabama’s parole rate has dropped to just 10 percent. It’s causing major overcrowding and violence. 

At the time of his conviction the attorney general at this time was Charles Graddick who was often known for the campaign slogan “Lock them up and throw the key away”. Graddick has always been a proponent of the tough-on-crime mindset and lengthy sentences. Under his watch, Alabama's prison system became known as one of the harshest in the United States. He wrote Alabama’s infamous habitual offender law, which punishes people with a life sentence for drug and property crimes. He justified it by referring to all offenders as “career criminals”. However, those “career criminals” were mostly poor people or African Americans in the state of Alabama. As the Attorney General, he blocked efforts to reduce the prison population and fought against rehabilitative programs. When he ran unsuccessfully for Governor, he promised to make sure Alabama prisons remained brutal for people serving time. In September 2019, Graddick was appointed by Governor Kay Ivey to lead the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles as the Director of the agency. This was the first gubernatorial appointment to the directorship. Before Graddick's appointment, directors were appointed by the three members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles. Graddick suspended employees for not following changes outlined in the law and suspended parole hearings that did not follow proper notification procedures. Many defense lawyers argue that Graddick skewed the votes for many rehabilitated offenders to be eligible for parole in the state of Alabama. So, please help stand up for people who have done everything in their power to change and rehabilitate themselves.