Officials with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says the shortage of state troopers has reached a critical state. ALEA spokesman Sgt. Steve Jarrett says the state reached an all time low of 289 troopers on the road late last year. Since then, the agency has pulled manpower form other departments to bring the number of troopers on the road to 431. However, Jarrett says a recent study by the University of Alabama's Center for Advanced Public Safety puts the number of troopers the state should have on patrol at just over a 1,000. Budget constraints in recent years have caused the Alabama Legislature to consolidate the Department of Public Safety and to slash its budget. Jarrett says with a less visible trooper presence speeds tend to increase along with aggressive driving and drinking and driving.
March Culmination
The final leg of the five-day commemorative march from Selma to Montgomery wrapped up Friday at the steps of the Alabama Capitol in downtown Montgomery. Marchers made the 54-mile journey from Selma following last Sunday's annual Jubilee Bridge Crossing. Spectators were out in full force to welcome the group into Montgomery. Martin Luther King III addressed the crowd.
Lee's Agent
Harper Lee's literary agent says he was "surprised" that his client was believed a victim of elder abuse and asserted "categorically" that she was in "full possession of her mental facilities." The statement from Andrew Nurnberg was issued Friday through Lee's publisher, Harper Collins.