Patch Joins Other Journalists In Calling For Transparency From Alabama Prisons

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Alabama Patch Editor Michael Seale and Tuscaloosa Patch have joined more than two dozen other journalists and media professionals in calling for transparency and accountability from state officials, namely within the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.

The initiative was started by noted Alabama journalist Beth Shelburne, a former WBRC news anchor and investigative reporter who has devoted her work to covering Alabama's beleaguered prison system and the stories of the inmates incarcerated.

Shelburne argues that ADOC offices have been systematically blocking her from accessing information, in addition to being removed from the Governor’s Office press distribution list.

What's more, the veteran reporter points out that ADOC began refusing to respond to her questions raised through her reporting, despite answering the same questions when posed by other reporters.

"I was inspired to write about the continuing obstructions I face reporting on Alabama's prison crisis because it is intolerable for government agencies to operate in secrecy," Shelburne told Patch on Friday. "The Alabama Department of Corrections and Governor Kay Ivey are supposed to serve all citizens of Alabama. That includes citizens, like me, who may publicly criticize their actions and inactions. I feel a duty to fight their silence on behalf of all other journalists and people who expect better from their leaders. All I'm asking is for these agencies to answer my questions."

In an opinion column published this week in the Montgomery Advertiser, entitled "If sunlight is the best disinfectant, why are Alabama leaders keeping us in the dark?," Shelburne details her struggles in obtaining information regarding the deaths of inmates in state custody. In one heartrending anecdote, she tells the story of an inmate at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer who died of hyperthermia from sitting in a cell with temperatures between 101-104 degrees.

The story itself is a disturbing one, made even more worrisome by the clouded circumstances around the man's death and the subsequent radio silence from state prison officials.

"Their silence didn’t surprise me," she writes. "By then, ADOC’s public affairs office had completely ignored my requests for confirmation on prison deaths and other horrific incidents for over six months. It is in the public’s interest to know about deaths inside taxpayer-funded institutions and the government has an obligation to inform citizens about such deaths."

To Shelburne's point, Alabama has some of the most lax public records laws in the country.

For instance, as Tuscaloosa Patch has previously reported, while public officials are legally required to acknowledge the receipt of a public records request, there is no timetable on the books for officials to respond.

This is an issue long bemoaned by journalists across Alabama and one that receives regular calls for change. To date, those demands have fallen on deaf ears in Montgomery, with the Republican super majority unlikely to ever propose any sweeping public records reforms.

However, Shelburne hopes bringing public attention to the roadblocks she faces in her reporting, in addition to the show of support from a long list of respected journalists, will have a positive impact for the independent press in Alabama moving forward.

Here is the full letter submitted to Gov. Kay Ivey and ADOC Commissioner John Hamm:

We are journalists who work in Alabama and nationwide. We write to object to a growing practice in your administration of blocking information from journalists who report critically about you. Journalists whose reporting you dislike have repeatedly been frozen out of the official flow of information, to the detriment of the citizens of Alabama. We urge you to reverse course.

The free flow of information to journalists, and through them to the voters, is critical for democracy to function. As Supreme Court Justice and Alabama native Hugo Black noted, the press exists “to serve the governed, not the governors.” The government may not pick and choose which reporters to supply with information about the activities of state agencies. The First Amendment demands that you restore equal access to official information to all journalists covering the state government—including those who may write critically about you or your policies.

One journalist who has been frozen out for her critical reporting is Beth Shelburne, whose reporting has provided Alabama citizens with coverage of the criminal justice system and mass incarceration. Over the years, Ms. Shelburne’s coverage of the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) has proved essential to informing Alabamians about departmental practices of great public interest and concern. Her coverage has exposed excessive spending by the Department and excessive force by officers. She has kept readers informed about ADOC spending plans, COVID-19 responses and, tragically, prisoner deaths in custody. Her work has garnered significant recognition in the field, including two Edward R. Murrow Awards for Excellence in Journalism. In 2018, she was awarded the prestigious Writing for Justice Fellowship with PEN America, based on her writing about Alabama’s prison system.

Despite Ms. Shelburne’s long history of valuable reporting, your offices have been systematically blocking her from accessing information necessary to do her job. In May 2020, she was abruptly removed from the Governor’s Office Press Distribution list. She has been unable to get answers about the office’s justification for excluding her from the same information it routinely sends to other reporters. Around the same time, ADOC began refusing to respond to Ms. Shelburne’s requests for information—requests that are critical to her reporting and that are routinely answered when posed by other reporters. In several instances, Ms. Shelburne sent questions to ADOC and received no responses, but when she provided those same questions to other reporters, they quickly got answers from ADOC. Ms. Shelburne has been left without any explanation or indication that her equal access to this information will be reinstated. This disparate treatment not only infringes Ms. Shelburne’s First Amendment rights, but has prevented Alabama citizens from being fully informed on important stories.

Unfortunately, Ms. Shelburne is not the only Alabama reporter who has faced such improper treatment from the Alabama Department of Corrections; rather, hers is just one example of a much larger problem.

In-depth reporting on the actions of government agencies is how voters stay informed about issues relevant to their lives and their community. To restrict Ms. Shelburne’s access to information not only prevents Ms. Shelburne from doing her job, but it prevents Alabama citizens from gaining access to news about the operations of their government. Alabama citizens are entitled to this information, and your offices have no authority to restrict it. ADOC’s unconstitutional retaliation against the critical reporting of Ms. Shelburne and others must be addressed promptly and full access to information held by the state of Alabama restored.

As Supreme Court Justice William Brennan wrote 40 years ago, “the First Amendment embodies more than a commitment to free expression and communicative interchange for their own sakes; it has a structural role to play in securing and fostering our republican system of self- government.” It is imperative that we protect our First Amendment rights when they are infringed. To ensure that the freedom of the press is not further violated, Ms. Shelburne’s full access to information—from both the Governor’s press distribution list and ADOC’s press office—must be reinstated, and there must be no future discrimination against journalists whose reporting you dislike. These journalists perform a vital service to Alabama. They and their readers deserve transparency from their government.

Sincerely,

• Shannon Isbell, News Director, WBRC, Birmingham
• Jack Royer, News Anchor, WIAT, Birmingham
• Eddie Burkhalter, Reporter, Alabama Political Reporter
• Rob Holbert, Co-Publisher, Lagniappe Weekly
• Mike Nikitas, Journalist & Professor, University of New Hampshire and Brandeis University
• Meredith Cummings, Journalist & Senior Instructor, University of Alabama
• Marcella Lee, News Anchor and Reporter, KFMB, San Diego
• RD Sahl, Journalist, Boston
• Brian Lyman, State Government Reporter, Montgomery Advertiser
• Dan Kennedy, Journalism Professor, Northeastern University
• Emily Rooney, Journalist and Host, WGBH, Boston
• Melissa Brown, State Government Reporter, Tennessean
• Kathryn Webb, Journalist and Editor, Alabama
• Fred D’ambrosi, Former News Director, Washington DC
• Caits Meissner, PEN America, Director of Prison and Justice Writing
• Chip Brantley, Journalist, Author and Creator of “White Lies” NPR podcast
• Kerry Madden-Lunsford, Writer, Author and Associate Professor, UAB
• Steven Cooper, Writer and Attorney, California
• Rebecca Renner, Journalist and Writer, Florida
• Steve Crocker, News Anchor and Reporter, WBRC, Birmingham
• Carlo Cecchetto, News Anchor and Reporter, KFMB San Diego
• Stacey Woelfel, Professor
• Dan Carsen, Teacher and Journalist, Missouri School of Journalism
• Josh Moon, columnist, Alabama Political Reporter
• David Person, editorial writer and columnist, Alabama Political Reporter
• Ryan Phillips, Founder/Field Editor of Tuscaloosa Patch
• Michael Seale, Alabama Editor of Patch Media
• Bruce Brown, Executive Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com.