I can’t stop thinking about Archie Hamlett, who was sent back to Alabama’s violent, overcrowded prisons after eight successful years on parole. During that time, he started a trucking business and bought land, rebuilding his life after 22 years in prison for “trafficking marijauna.”

Why was he sent back to prison? On a cold night in January 2025, cops pulled him over, saw his record, then detained him on the side of the road. Mr. Hamlett, 53, has a medical condition that causes frequent urination, so he keeps a portable urinal in his car. While he stood outside on that 35-degree night, he asked cops if he could get the urinal out of his car and relieve himself. They said no.

Feeling nauseas, Mr. Hamlett finally decided to pee in the dark instead of wetting his pants. What did cops do? They took him to jail and charged him with public lewdness and because of that, Alabama’s parole board revoked his parole and sent him back to prison, where he sits right now.

Mr. Hamlett is one of many stories detailed in a new report by my friends at Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. “Taking a Life” examines the state’s overuse of life sentences and harmful parole practices, like revoking Mr. Hamlett despite a stellar record of following all the insane rules and being a good citizen.

A judge has dismissed the public lewdness charge, but in Alabama, that doesn’t matter. State law allows parole revocations based on arrest only, not conviction, no matter how bogus the allegation. And even if the charge is dropped, parole isn’t reinstated. Mr. Hamlett’s next chance for release is March of 2026 when he’s eligible for parole consideration again.

Sending Mr. Hamlett back to prison isn’t about public safety, justice, accountability or any of mass incarceration’s big lies. This is why I am focused on the system. It ruins lives.