A.M. writing from Alabama
“I failed [my children] by not reporting my spouse to the proper authorities after the first incident of maltreatment. I had a huge error in judgment, out of fear of losing my children... and still had the lingering threat of [my spouse] telling me he could kill me and bury my body.”
Location
Russell County, AL
Crime of Conviction
Aggravated child abuse
Year of Conviction
2023
A.M is currently incarcerated in Alabama and serving a sentence of life with the possibility of parole for the aggravated child abuse of her foster child who was 18 months old at the time of the crime. She was tried alongside her husband because the judge refused to sever their cases, but maintains that her husband actually abused the child and also had a history of abusing her and her other children. A.M. writes that she herself grew up in foster care and was naive and negligent in reporting her husband’s maltreatment of her foster child because she was afraid of losing her children. However, she maintains that she never abused her foster child. A.M. writes that the bodycam footage in her case was lost and corrupted, state witnesses committed perjury during trial, defense lawyers were ineffective at trial, and there was misconduct during jury selection. A.M.'s children have been placed in foster care as a result of her arrest and incarceration. Her goal in life is to get her two children out of foster care and home to her family while she uses her time in prison to better herself.
Procedural issues
Ineffective assistance of counsel, wrongful conviction, prosecutorial misconduct
Counsel
Yes