11/20/2024
Albert Pugh was sentenced to die in prison at the age of 28 under Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act. By the time he was paroled in 2011 he’d served 29 years inside Alabama prisons.
On Tuesday, the 62-year-old was granted a full pardon for his 1983 robbery conviction, marking an end to a chapter in his life that tells only a part of his story, a life that includes years of service helping others overcome addiction and re-enter their communities after prison. The vote was unanimous.
“Over the course of the last 13 years, Mr. Pugh has proven that his remarkable institutional record was not merely a product of his effort to regain his freedom,” wrote Mr. Pugh’s attorney, Appleseed’s Scott Fuqua, in a letter to Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. “Since leaving prison, he has distinguished himself through his tireless work to help others recover from addiction and successfully reenter society after incarceration.”
Mr. Pugh was supported by more than a dozen community members from St. Andrews Global Methodist Church, who filled an entire waiting room as the parole board office.
As executive director of the Cullman Re-Entry Addiction Assistance, Inc. Mr. Pugh helps those who, like him, find themselves outside of prison fences but still locked in a world of uncertainty and fear.
“A lot of guys don’t have a place to go after treatment. A lot of guys don’t have a place to go after prison,” Mr. Pugh explained. His facility gives them a safe place to call home while they work to put their lives back together. More than 15 supporters attended Tuesday's hearing, showing how much he is appreciated in the community.
While on lifetime parole - a fact of life for those who are granted parole but still under a life sentence - Mr. Pugh couldn’t travel outside of Alabama, to out-of-state conferences and to seek funding for his center, so that he could help more people in need of his service. Each month he’d have to check in with his parole officer and pay the $40 monthly fee. The pardon means he’ll be free to travel, and the crimes of his addiction-fueled youth are fully in his past.
A judge in 2010 granted Mr. Pugh’s petition for a sentence reduction, noting conflicting testimony on whether Mr. Pugh intended to fire a weapon when fleeing sheriff’s deputies after the 1983 robbery. As he fled he dropped his weapon, causing it to discharge. Law enforcement didn’t object to his petition, it was granted and he was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. In 2011 he was granted parole.
“I’m a guy who’s been there and been through a lot of the same things these guys have been through, and I know that I’ve been able to make changes through the grace of God, and I want them to be able to see that there’s absolutely a better way and a better life,” Mr. Pugh told Appleseed. “I want these guys to have a safe place that they can go, and feel loved and comfortable.”
Mr. Pugh credits his faith for helping set his life straight, a faith he came to while incarcerated.
“When I came to prison, I was angry and lost. I stayed in trouble for fighting and was always looking for a way to escape,” Mr. Pugh wrote in a 2021 op-ed. “That changed in November of 1984, when I attended a weekend event sponsored by Kairos prison ministry. It marked the first time I experienced the love of God and I began to change for the better. I learned to forgive myself and slowly built up a positive record in prison, taking each and every opportunity available to better myself.”
