7 Things: Alabama Omicron cases fall, school choice could become an issue in governor's race and more …

7. Darby appealing murder conviction, claiming “special considerations”

Former Huntsville Police Officer William Ben Darby has been convicted of murder in the case of Jeffery Parker, but on his first appeal attempt of the conviction, his attorneys are arguing that the conviction was a “gross miscarriage of justice.” Darby shot Parker within 11 seconds of entering the house where two officers were already responding to a 911 call where Parker was threatening to commit suicide. The leadership of the Huntsville Police Department and the Fraternal Order of Police are arguing that Darby did as trained.
In Darby’s appeal, his attorneys said, “Because Mr. Darby’s actions were reasonable, no just and reasonable jury could or would have convicted Mr. Darby of murder.” The attorneys go on to say, “In this case, the circuit court did not believe it was required to instruct the jury about how it should view the facts of the case through the lens of a law enforcement officer even though special considerations for law enforcement came into play in this atypical self-defense case.”

6. U.S. troops are being deployed to Europe

The United States will be sending troops to Europe as the threat that Russia could invade Ukraine grows. There will be about 3,000 U.S. troops spread between different countries.
Among those, about 1,000 troops will be sent to Romania that are currently stationed in Germany. The other 2,000 troops will be sent from the United States. There are another 8,500 troops who have been on “heightened alert” since last month in the event that they are needed.

5. U.S. Senate candidates hit vaccine mandates

While speaking to the Elmore County Republican Party, U.S. Senate candidate Katie Britt discussed President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate and how inconsistent the mandate was on who it impacted, noting that it “totally targeted” working citizens. Britt went on to say, “[I]f you were coming over that border…did Biden think you needed that vaccine? No, no, no. if you look at the people who are living off welfare…did he ask any of those people to be vaccinated before they could cash that check? No. The only people who were put in the crosshairs were people who were working hard to provide for their families – law-abiding, hard-working Americans.”
U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) spoke on the floor of the House of Representatvies on the issue of vaccine mandates. Brooks read a letter from a constituent who was harmed by the vaccine and followed it by saying, “Mr. Speaker, I stand for freedom and liberty, and against vaccine mandates, because, in America, Americans should have the freedom to choose which of two bad COVID-19 options is best for them: vaccination, or not vaccination. And I stand against dictatorial government vaccine mandates because mandates are the antithesis of the liberty and freedom on which America is based.”

4. Constitutional carry passes first step

State Senator Gerald Allen’s (R-Tuscaloosa) bills that would change concealed carry permits in Alabama have both passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. The first of the two bills would remove the requirement for a permit to conceal carry a firearm, and the second prevents the enforcement of federal restrictions on firearms.
Allen said about the bill being approved in committee, “I am pleased with the efficient progress we’ve made in the Senate to move these two bills along in the legislative process, and I am proud that Senate Republicans are dedicated to working diligently to defend the rights of Alabamians.”

3. Most school districts aren’t using free coronavirus testing

While there have been issues within Alabama public schools of coronavirus cases or concerns over the coronavirus, many schools haven’t been using the free testing services provided to them through the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Currently, there are 153 public school districts in the state, and only 15 of those have enrolled in the program. State Superintendent Eric Mackey said, “We had a lot of pushback from parents about the numbers of children who were quarantined last school year. We were being overly cautious last year, and in hindsight, some students went into quarantine that maybe didn’t have to. So when we began talking about an in-school testing program last summer, there were very few superintendents that really wanted to walk down that road.”

2. Lew Burdette advocating for school choice as gubernatorial candidate

Businessman and gubernatorial candidate Lew Burdette has come out in support of more school choice in Alabama after State Senator Del Marsh (R-Anniston) introduced a bill that would provide financial support to parents to send their children to a different school.
Burdette said about the legislation, “There’s no reason it shouldn’t pass…Republicans, conservatives seemingly control all of it so why can’t we pass things like that?” Burdette also said that school choice is “only one component of education we need to fix in Alabama.”

1. Most counties in Alabama are seeing coronavirus cases fall

Coronavirus infections have started falling drastically in Alabama after the peak of Omicron cases, with almost all 67 counties in the state seeing a decrease in positivity rate. Now, the state positivity rate is at 35.4%, which is about 10% lower than the peak.
Weekly cases are at the lowest they have been since the beginning of 2022, with about 8,700 cases on average per day in most recent weeks. The new weekly average is about 35% lower than the highest rate of 13,400 cases daily. The only counties that aren’t seeing as dramatic of a decline are Montgomery, Autauga, Lowndes, Elmore and Cleburne.