Former Alabama lawmaker Ed Henry pardoned by Donald Trump
President Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned an Alabama lawmaker who pleaded guilty two years ago for his role in a health care fraud case. Former state Rep. Ed Henry, who had been a state chairman of Trump’s 2016 campaign, received one of the dozens of pardons and clemency grants Trump announced on his final day in office. Henry in 2019 pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting theft of government property as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors. A judge sentenced Henry to two years of probation. Prosecutors said doctors agreed to improperly waive co-pays for certain Medicare patients with chronic conditions who enrolled in care management services provided by Henry’s company, MyPractice24. Waiving the required co-pays meant Medicare likely paid for services patients did not need or would have refused if they had to pay the $8 co-pay, prosecutors said. “Henry and his co-defendants treated seriously ill patients as vehicles for getting money from the government,” U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin said in 2019 when the plea deal was announced. During the 2019 sentencing hearing in Montgomery federal court, Henry told the judge he was unaware at the time that waiving the payments constituted a crime, but said he was “acutely aware” of that now. “My family and I will be forever grateful to President Donald Trump for understanding the facts of my case and issuing a pardon in one of his final acts in office,” Henry said Wednesday in a statement texted to The Associated Press. Henry thanked Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville and others “for getting this pardon in front of the President.” “Donald Trump built history’s greatest economy, secured our border, negotiated historic peace agreements, created a COVID vaccine in record time, and made America great again in countless other ways. For those accomplishments alone, he would have my gratitude, but with this pardon, he has given me a gift that carries my deepest and most heartfelt thanks,” Henry said. Henry served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018. He did not seek re-election in 2018. He is perhaps best known in the Alabama Legislature for starting the impeachment push against then-Gov. Robert Bentley. Henry filed impeachment articles accusing Bentley of willful neglect of duty and corruption in office. Bentley later resigned from office. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
DOJ: Alabama inmates are subjected to excessive force
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that it believes Alabama’s prisons for men are unconstitutional because inmates are subjected to excessive force at the hands of prison staff. In its report, the Justice Department detailed a chilling litany of incidents, including a prison guard beating a handcuffed prisoner in a medical unit while shouting, “I am the reaper of death, now say my name!” as the prisoner begged the officer to kill him. It is the second time within 18 months that the Justice Department has accused Alabama of housing male inmates in unconstitutional conditions in a prison system considered one of the most understaffed and violent in the country. “Our investigation found reasonable cause to believe that there is a pattern or practice of using excessive force against prisoners in Alabama’s prisons for men,” Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division said in a statement. Dreiband said the Justice Department hopes to work with Alabama to resolve the department’s concerns. In findings sent to the state, federal investigators wrote that “uses of excessive force in Alabama’s prisons are common” and that severe overcrowding and understaffing plays a role in the violence. “The severe and pervasive overcrowding increases tensions and escalates episodes of violence between prisoners, which lead to uses of force. At the same time, the understaffing tends to generate a need for more frequent uses of force than would otherwise occur if officers operated at full strength,” federal investigators wrote. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement that her administration remains hopeful that they will reach a resolution to all of the department’s allegations. “I am as committed as ever to improving prison safety through necessary infrastructure investment, increased correctional staffing, comprehensive mental-health care services, and effective rehabilitation programs, among other items. We all desire an effective, Alabama solution to this Alabama problem, and my administration will put in the hard work and long hours necessary to achieve that result,” the Republican governor said. The Justice Department noted that correctional officers in multiple prisons have pleaded guilty or been convicted of using excessive force against prisoners, including one incident when at least four officers beat a prisoner to death. The 28-page Justice Department report listed multiple examples of violence by prison staff after reviewing files and visiting several state prisons. The Justice Department said: — In December 2018, a correctional officer brutally hit, kicked, and struck a handcuffed prisoner with an expandable baton in the Ventress medical unit. During the beating, all four of the nurses heard the officer yell something to the effect of, “I am the reaper of death, now say my name!” and the prisoner begged the officer to kill him. — In September 2019, a lieutenant at Ventress prison lifted a handcuffed inmate off the ground and slammed him on a concrete floor several times, knocking him unconscious. The prisoner was unable to breathe on his own, was intubated, and taken to an outside hospital, where medical personnel administered CPR several times to keep the prisoner alive. — In February 2019, a sergeant at Elmore prison beat two handcuffed prisoners, suspected of retrieving contraband, striking one prisoner with a collapsible baton approximately 19 times on his head, legs, arms, back, and body. The sergeant who assaulted the prisoners later filed a false report about the incident. The sergeant and two correctional officers pleaded guilty in federal court. “The results of the investigation into excessive force issues within Alabama’s prisons is distressing and continues to require real and immediate attention,” said Louis Franklin, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. The announcement comes more than a year after the Justice Department released a scathing report that said male inmates face excessive inmate-on-inmate violence and sexual abuse in facilities that are not sanitary, safe, or secure. The department is in negotiations with the state in an attempt to reach an agreement. The finding released Thursday were the continuation of the investigation first launched in 2016. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Steve Marshall announces Alabama cybercrime lab
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Wednesday announced the formation of a new cybercrime Lab located in the Attorney General’s office to assist law enforcement officials in the state with cyber-related investigations. “For law enforcement, investigating cybercrime and accessing digital evidence present real challenges. But these hurdles can be overcome when agencies work together to combine expertise and training,” said Marshall. “The Cybercrime Lab provides cutting edge tools to enable our investigators to more effectively conduct online investigations of criminal activity, ranging from child sexual exploitation and human trafficking to network intrusions and data breaches. Equally important, the Cybercrime Lab will serve as a resource for federal, state and local law enforcement in Alabama seeking assistance in accessing criminal evidence stored on digital devices.” The Alabama Attorney General’s Office was joined by U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, Louis Franklin, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, officials with the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, the Alabama Fusion Center, and the Alabama Office of Prosecution Services in announcing the new lab. The AG’s office has also joined the Alabama Focus Group on Skimming in launching a new web link for owners of victimized payment card systems and law enforcement for the reporting of suspected debit/credit card skimming devices, the collected information will then be used to investigate and prosecute criminals involved in illegal skimming operations within state. “Cybercrime is ever increasing and touches most people in some form,” added Franklin. “As the level of cybercrime becomes more sophisticated, it is important that our investigative techniques are expansive enough to combat these criminals. This cybercrime lab will give us extra tools in our investigative toolbox to identify and prosecute those cyber offenders.” According to the AG’s office, over the last year cyber agents with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office have already assisted more than 30 agencies in cyber investigations, including unlocking cell phone evidence in homicides, tracking down credit/debit card skimmers, and unmasking criminals behind identity theft cases. These agents have also helped businesses and local governments recover nearly $1 million potentially lost in cyber theft cases. The new Cybercrime Lab will expand the ability of the Attorney General’s Office to conduct such investigative work.
