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 
He told me his priors were 1 grand larceny and 2 receiving stolen property. I could only locate the grand larceny from 1979. He did a year in prison for that conviction, and thinks he did about the same for the other crimes. "But I really can't remember," he said. 2/12
Mr. Simmons was 25 when the state said he should die in prison. Today he's 62. When I asked his age he paused & laughed. "Been so long since somebody asked me that," he said. He hasn't had a visitor since 2005 after his sister died. "Haven't heard from nobody since then." 3/12
Mr. Simmons is incarcerated at Holman, one of the most violent prisons in the country. He is studying for his GED and "tries to stay away from the wild bunch." He got sober in prison 18 years ago, despite being surrounded by drugs. "I just talked to God about it," he said. 4/12
Mr. Simmons told me he was high on drugs when he committed the crime that landed him in prison for life. He wrestled a man to the ground and stole his wallet which contained $9. "I was just trying to get me a quick fix," he said. Police arrested him a few blocks away. 5/12
He remembers his trial lasting 25 minutes and his appointed attorney calling no witnesses. Prosecutors did not offer him a plea deal, even though all of his prior offenses were nonviolent. "They kept saying we'll do our best to keep you off the streets for good," he said. 6/12
Mr. Simmons told me he grew up poor in Enterprise, Alabama. He started using drugs in high school, but dropped out at age 16. "It was real bad," he said about his drug use. He was using hard drugs when he committed his crimes. "It was all stupid. I was messed up." 7/12
Over the years, he's filed appeal after appeal, with no lawyer. All were denied. "In a place like this, it can feel like you're standing all alone," he told me. "I ain't got nobody on the outside to call and talk to. Sometimes I feel like I'm lost in outer space." 8/12
"My hope is to get out of here, settle down with a woman and do God's will," he said. "I'd like to tell people about how bad drugs are." Mr. Simmons said he sees men doing drugs all the time in prison, but he stays away. He hasn't gotten a disciplinary citation in a decade. 9/12
In 2014, lawmakers removed the last avenue of appeal for people like Mr. Simmons serving life without parole under the habitual offender law. I asked if he had hope that leaders would reconsider that. "Yes, I've been hoping and praying on it," he said. "I ain't giving up." 10/12
Mr. Simmons did not deny his crimes & I am not writing this to argue that he's innocent. He has paid for his crimes with his entire adult life, cast away like he wasn't worth redemption. It sickens me to think about how many other people are warehoused in prison, forgotten. 11/12
When tough on crime people say everyone in prison deserves to be there, think of Mr. Simmons. We should be ashamed of laws that categorically throw people away in the name of safety. We should question anyone who supports Alabama's habitual offender law. It needs to go. 12/12
