Willie Simmons, an Alabama Army veteran, stole $9 in 1982. As a consequence, he was charged with 1st-degree robbery and was penalized to life imprisonment without bail at the age of 25. The man prosecuted under Alabama’s usual offender law due to the three previous convictions was told he would just pass away in jail.
Simmons who is now 62 has finished his last 38 years under bars. He opened up to a journalist and she shed light on his life through a series of tweets.
The journalist has reveals that Simmons was imprisoned at Holman, one of the most violent prisons in the country. Simmons also told to the journalist that he had got rid of his drug addiction 18 years back. The journalist tweeted that Simmons got sober in prison 18 years ago, regardless of being surrounded by drugs.
Remembering his hearing that happened years ago, Simmons told to the journalist that the how his destiny was decided in mere minutes. He remembers his trial lasting 25 minutes and his appointed attorney calling no witnesses. Prosecuting attorney did not offer him a petition deal, even though all of his prior crimes were nonaggressive. Simmons said that they kept saying that they we’ll do their best to keep him off the streets for good.
THREAD: Today I talked to Willie Simmons, who has spent the last 38 years in prison for stealing $9. He was convicted of 1st degree robbery & sentenced to life without parole in 1982, prosecuted under Alabama’s habitual offender law because he had 3 prior convictions. 1/12 pic.twitter.com/s5BNK2Ejyd
— Beth Shelburne (@bshelburne) December 22, 2019
Since then, Simmons fortune has remained the same. He stayed among his ferocious prisoners for years with a timely visit from his sister. However, those visits stopped after her death in 2005. Simmons told the journalist that he had appealed numerous times but however, he was left with denials after denials.
He said that in a place like this, it can feel like you’re standing all alone. He does not have anybody from the outside to call and talk to him and he feels like he is lost in outer space. Simmons, however still hopes for a better tomorrow. He still hopes to fight the injustice. He said that he is been hoping and praying on it and he is not going to give it up.
Regardless of the hope he carries in his heart, Simmons’ dream of getting out may not become a reality. In 2014, the last avenue of the appeal of people who were sentenced under the habitual offender law was removed by policymakers.
On the other hand, the journalist stated that she was not arguing his innocence and went on to say that Simmons has paid for his crimes with his entire adult life, cast away like he wasn’t worth redemption.
The journalist said that when tough on crime people say everyone in prison deserves to be there, think of Simmons. She said that we should be embarrassed of regulations that categorically throw people away in the name of safety. We should question anyone who supports Alabama’s habitual offender law and it needs to go.
