Bad Teachers: Alabama

0:19 Hey folks, welcome back today. I am bringing you another Bad Teachers State series episode as I continue on my quest to cover all fifty states. And in this episode, I am bringing you to Alabama. And first up in Alabama is former social studies teacher Carrie Witt, who in twenty sixteen was arrested in charge with two counts of engaging in sex acts with two high school students. And what made this case rather interesting is Carrie Wit she actually challenged the law in Alabama all the way to the state's Supreme Court primary due to these students' ages at the time, which were initially reported as seventeen and eighteen.

1:08 And we'll get into some discrepancies there now. As if this weren't enough, another teacher slash teacher's aid from another school, twenty five year old David Solomon, actually joined her in that challenge after he was charged with having sex with a seventeen year old student. It is a wild case with a lot of twist and turns, so let's get into it. And Carrie Witch, she taught at Decatur High School and this is in Decatur, Alabama, and Decatur is a larger city around sixty thousand residents, and it's located about twenty five miles southwest of Huntsville, Alabama. Space Country right in Alabama, it's known as the River City with the Tennessee River tributaries flowing right into the area. And now not much at all, really is none out there regarding Carrie Wit prior to her arrest in twenty sixteen.

2:08 What we do know is at the time of her arrest, she was well established at the school. She had taught there quite a while, teaching history, psychology, and at the time of her arrest social studies. Now, in addition to that, she also coached varsity golf and she coached junior varsity cheerleading at the school. So on March seventeenth of twenty sixteen, police they received some information that a teacher, specifically Carried Witt, was having sex with a student a student. Now they did what they do, They opened an investigation. They started interviewing students. It was through these interviews they discover hold up not only was one student involved, but two male victims, again one being seventeen as it was originally reported in one being eighteen. So on March twenty first of twenty sixteen, police investigate and they feel like they have enough information, improof to make an arrest, and that's just what they do.

3:17 They arrest carry went and they charge her with two counts of a school employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student under the age of nineteen. And that's going to play a big role here. Now bond is set at ten thousand dollars. Now, it's notable that in Alabama the age of consent is sixteen, but this specific statute a person of authority. Keep that in mind. That makes it a felony regardless of whether you consent or not. Seventeen you consent. It's like many of the cases we cover. You can't consent to someone that is in a position of a already over you, like a teacher. And as I said, this law would play a very key role in this case. So with at this time of her arrest, she's forty two years old, attractive, very attractive looking woman, not someone you would think would be chasing kids around. So she gets arrested, she bails out.

4:19 This is on March twenty second of twenty sixteen, and she at this point is facing twenty years in prison and another point In fact, at the time of her rest, she was the third local coach arrested for screwing around with kids. Now, remember she was a golf coach as well as a teacher, but she was the third locally to get arrested in just a two week time period, with the first being a local assistant football coach, the second also being some sort of football coach. In less than two weeks, y'all, Takatur, Alabama was realizing quickly they had a problem at their school. So a week later, the Alabama Senate actually takes note of all this going down in the Decatur area and a bill was introduced, and essentially this bill was promoted throughout the state of Alabama as a requirement of teachers to take a refresher course on get this, not having sex with students. I mean, for sure, something that on the surface seems like it's worth doing, But on that same thought process, it seems kind of ridiculous that it would even be necessary to have a freaking course on not having sex with the students you teach in high school in younger grades. Kind of tells you how much of an issue this was becoming in the state of Alabama. Now on a third

5:50 of twenty sixteen, there were some conflicting reports that came out when it was reported by police that the two students that was actually having sex with were both eighteen at the time. And look, it doesn't change any of the charges because the state law states any student under nineteen. Really it's just semantics, but for sure it's important to be accurate, and we're going to have another accuracy issue with the ages as we go along. Now. It also comes out this day that while Wit was suspended pending an investigation, she was suspended with pay, which I found very interesting. Apparently to cater Alabama schools, they had some sort of I don't know if I call it a policy, but it was definitely the way that they operated in which if you're charged with some sort of crime, you have to be convicted before they will stop paying you.

6:49 And this will play a key role in the story in just a bit. Now, in the midst of that, the bill that I mentioned a few minutes ago, it was introduced and it's pretty short and to the point, so I'm going to read quickly just the highlights of what it stated. And it was actually written by Senator Ward in Alabama and the highlights of it are as follow as. It says, a bill to be enacted related to public K through twelve education to establish the Educator Student Interaction Training Act one hour of training regarding appropriate and inappropriate interaction between educators and students one whole hour.

7:33 The overwhelming majority of educators in public schools of the state are dedicated professionals who comply themselves accordingly. However, an increasing number of incidents have been reported in recent years where educators have had inappropriate contact with students, both in person and through social media, and in the context of discipline and inappropriate relationship. Another key point at self is the Alabama Education Association SOW cooperatively develop and disseminate training regarding appropriate and inappropriate interaction between educators and students. At a minimum, the training shall include instruction on state laws, state and local education policies, and best practices regarding all of the following. And it says sexual or romantic contact between educators and students, two, social media interaction between educators and students. Three, interaction between educators and students outside of a school setting for corporate punishment and other disciplinary measures, and five the use of physical restraint in maintaining order in the classroom. So that became an act inside of the state of Alabama that they were going to mandate an hour of training. And hey, look, any training is great.

8:55 I don't know how I don't know how effective that really is. I mean, it's not real hard to understand what's appropriate and inappropriate. But at least they did something. I'll give them credit for that. So while that bill is being considered, more information was coming out on Carrie Wit and the fact that she was still getting paid during this investigation. Now the superintendent explained to the media that Carrie declined to resign after she was arrested, and policy dictated she would have to be fired for cause to not get paid, meaning convicted, as I told you earlier, was kind of the process that this school district used.

9:38 It's a weird policy, but I mean, there you have it. It also came out that during these instances of sex that she allegedly had with these students, they had occurred the prior year to her rest, with one student during this spring of twenty fifteen and another student during the fall of twenty fifteen. The concern over Wit was reported by a school employee, and that is what actually sparked the investigation into what was going on. So on April fourth of twenty sixteen, a real shocker hit when Carrie WIT's attorney files emotion and in this motion he challenges the teacher student law and he calls it unconstitutional. And this is probably the most important part of this entire case.

10:31 So I'm going to review the high points for you. I'm not going to bore you with the legal ease if you will that's involved in this motion, but I will cover just a little bit of it that I think is very important. And it starts out with the statement of facts and it redacts both of the students' names, but it goes on to say we're high school students at Decatur High School. Both had been a student in a class taught by Wit at Decatur High School. And then it says both were seventeen years old at the time of the alleged jack. So you see here where we've got some age discrepancies. Now this is a court motion, I would be apt to believe what it says in this motion that both were seventeen, but there you have it.

11:19 And it goes on to say both suffer from no mental defect, were not at any time mentally ill or physically incapacitated, and both maintained in no way exerted authority over entaste or pressured them to enter any relationships. And then one of the two students name redacted has already graduated from Decatur High School and is no longer enrolled as a high school student, which is irrelevant in this situation because when she was taking part in these sexual instances, this person was in high school. So then this attorney goes on and kind of makes an argument here, and it starts out by quoting the statue as it reads prior to him making an argument, and it says thirteen Ay six eighty one the statute as follows, a person commits the crime of a school employee engaging in sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student under the age of nineteen if he or she is a school employee and engages in sex acts or deviant sexual intercourse with a student, regardless of whether the student is male or female. And then it says in bold consent is not a defense to charge under this section. As used in this section, sex act means sexual intercourse with any penetration. However, slight emission is not required, then it says, as used in this section, deviant sexual intercourse means any act of sex gratification between persons not married to each other involving

12:50 the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another. So in these charges that tells you that there was either some anal see acts going on or some oral sex going on. The crime of a school employee engaging in a sex act or deviate sexual intercourse with a student is a Class B felony, it says. It also says, Additionally, the statute provides that, for purposes of this article, school employee includes a teacher, school administrators, student teachers, safety or resource officer, coach, or other school employee. Conversely, statute provides that a person over the age of sixteen who is not mentally defective, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless is capable of giving consent to sexual conduct. Under Alabama law, anyone sixteen age or older is technically not a child, but is one capable of consenting to sex. The addition of statue to the existing scheme of sex crimes unconstitutionally intrudes into the private relationship of school employee to screen his or her sexual partners based not on capacity to consent, but based on enrollment status. The state allows that a person sixteen years of age or older may consent to sexual activity with anyone except to school employee, and at this point he's making his argument. The state allows the school employees may choose sexual partners from anyone over sixteen,

14:24 provided the person is not enrolled as a student. The state does not stop its inquiry at the schoolhouse doors or school related functions or activities, but barges into the bedrooms and private spaces of a school employee to see if any of his or her personal time is spending a relationship with someone enrolled as a student. The state makes no inquiry as to whether the relationship was injurious to the senate or influenced or manipulated to acquiesce to any sexual contact. The state does not inquire into any facts around the relationship, but imposes strict liability upon school employees and no other profession to choose all love interests from those over age nineteen or from school dropouts over sixteen.

15:13 The state might have easily amended the age of consent to nineteen or provided harsher sentences for any party who con coerces consent by abuse of authority but instead chose to unconstitutionally intrude upon the privacy of school employees. Privacy rights, including sexual autonomy, are among those guaranteed by the fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. So all of that legal ease, which I know is kind of hard to keep up with. He's basically saying, hey, you know, he quotes the initial statute and that's what the law says, but it's actually unconstitutional because you're getting into the private life of someone, and moreover, the private sexual life of someone. That's reach right, He's reaching Mary. He's doing his job and trying to do it well and kind of make an argument against the law. That makes all the sense in the world to me, Jim, did you see what happened in Texas today?

16:17 Wait before you tell me that, let me tell you what happened in New York. It cannot be as crazy as the case I told you about yesterday in Louisiana. You know what, we should do a podcast about it, and with that we did. Crime War Weekly covers the crime news headlines that have dominated the week, we cover trending crimes from all over the country and even sprinkle in a few globally. Crime War Weekly is available now wherever you listen to your podcasts, simply by searching Crime War Weekly or clicking the link in the description of this podcast. So the next big move to occur over this case occurs September sixteenth of twenty sixteen. Witt actually gets indicted by a grand jury on the charges that she was arrested on. And it's interesting and also plays a key role in this case that the very same day, another teacher, a teacher by the name of David Solomon, is also indicted. Now totally separate cases, totally separate schools as a matter of fact, but these two cases will intertwine as we go along. David Solomon of Huntsville, he was indicted for having sex with a seventeen year old female student while working at Faulkeville High School, which allegedly started while he was communicating with a student through Facebook.

17:45 Now fast forward to June of twenty seventeen, and even though she has been indicted by a grand jury, meaning miss witt Wit continues to get paid. If you can believe that as a matter of fact, since her rest in March of twenty sixteen, she had been paid over forty thousand dollars from the school system. And get this, due to teachers receiving a four percent raise during the time after her rest, she also got the freaking pay raise. This teacher got a damn raise while being placed on leave for having sex with two male students. You cannot make that shit up. Now. This is the first time I have ever seen that. So not only that, but she was also allowed to stay on the school's health insurance plan. And remember that mail teacher that I mentioned, David Solomon and how he and wits case would intertwine, Well, they did intertwine around this point because he actually teams up with wit Remember that motion that I just read you challenging the constitutionality of their cases. He teams up with her on that and they go to war with the state challenging the constitutionality. And that was a big time reach for her attorney, right. Well, guess what they actually win that argument in a judge dismisses both of

19:21 their cases. You cannot make that up either. So I'm going to read you a short article that really covers it. Well, it's by a writer by the name of Eric fleisch Hoer. It is from the Decatur Daily newspaper, and it reads headline Morgan judge dismisses sex with student cases, one involving Decatur High's whit. It goes on to say, in an order that could have statewide ramifications, a Morgan County judge today dismisscharges against two defendants charged with violating a law prohibiting school employees from having sex with student I could Court Judge Glenn Thompson ruled the law was unconstitutional as it applies to Kerry Witt, who at this time was forty four and a teacher at Decatur High School, and David Solomon, twenty seven, who was a contract teacher at Faultville High School. Says quote, this court acknowledges a disparity of power may inherently exist between a teacher's student relationship, but it clearly does not exist between every school employee and every student, regardless of where the student is enrolled.

20:32 By eliminating the requirement that the state show a position of authority grooming, abuse, coercion, or lack of consent, the state criminalizes behaviors outside the state's legitimate purposes. I couldn't believe it when I read that, goes on to say. Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson said he respectively disagrees with the court's ruling. He said the state Attorney General's office and his office would file an appeal. Charged with two counts of a school employee having sex with a student, was suspended from her position on March twenty first of twenty sixteen and continues to draw salary from the school system. Witt is accused of having sex with a male student who was seventeen when the relationship started, and another male student who was eighteen. Police have said, and obviously there's a freaking discrepancy again. WIT's attorney, Robert Tooton, argued the students were not under her direct authority at the school and were above the state's legal age of consent, which is sixteen. Solomon was fired by the company he worked for after his March twenty ninth, twenty sixteen, arrisked on one count of a school employee having sex with a student. Solomon, who lives in Huntsville, was accused of having sex with a seventeen year old female student Heartsville Police Sergeant Alan mcderman said, today Solomon told at the same school which the student was enrolled quote they met at the school, but communicated through Facebook. Thompson dismissed the charges without prejudice,

22:02 meaning the state can refile them quote. In order for justice to be served, Thompson wrote, the state must prove the defendant was actually in a position of authority over the victim and that that position of authority was abused to obtain consent. Thompson wrote that in finding the law and constitutional as applied to the defendants, this court does not endeavor to absolve any wrongdoing or excuse the defendants. Really, but you dismiss the whole fricking case. Wow. Now that is about as most wild a ruling as you will ever see. So, of course the state ain't gonna let this one go, as they said in that article, they start amping up for an appeal, but at this point Wit and Solomon, for that matter, are completely out of trouble, charges completely dropped, which just a week later that appeal does get filed. This is on all fourteenth of twenty seventeen.

23:02 All of this time she was on the school's payroll. Now get this. By this time, despite being on leave, Witt had collected eighty nine thousand, seven hundred and thirteen dollars in salary and benefits. So because this case was being appealed, Witt remained on the payroll, but she could not return back to the school penning that appeal. In that appeal, it drags on by February of twenty eighteen, yet another pay raise, and it's not until August of twenty eighteen the school one day they receive a letter and that letter is from Carrie Whitt, and I'm gonna read that for you quickly. It says, dear doctor Douglas, and he was the head of the Decatur kind of Schools, Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from my position as history teacher at Decatur High School, effective immediately.

24:02 It is unfortunate that an employment termination hearing is scheduled prior to my case being settled in a court of law, so they had a hearing set up to where they were looking to fire her, essentially. So it goes on to say, therefore, with much regret, I am forced to submit this request. At this time, I am deeply saddened to resign from the school system that I called my work home for twenty years as a dedicated employee and teaching leader. It is even more upsetting that I have not had a voice to defend my character against many unsubstantiated rumors and false allegations. Please view this letter as my response to the accusations against me. I deny having committed any crime or harm against a student, nor have I ever had an inappropriate relationship with a student, so she's not even taken responsibility for what she did here.

24:54 I appreciate the opportunity given to me many years ago to serve as a teacher with the Decatur Schools System. Please shave this letter with the school board and or termination committee. Sincerely, carry Wit. So she has resigned at this point, and that means no more money for Carrie Wit, and that appeal drags on and by the point that she resigned. Incidentally, the school that paid her one hundred and forty two thousand, nine hundred and ninety two dollars in salary and benefits. That wasn't all cash, but it was one hundred thousand dollars in cash, and while being out on leave the entire time, and that is just unreal to me. And if you're in Alabama and you're listening to this, that ought to fire you up because guess what you paid that The state doesn't have no money.

25:47 That's all tax money, right. So it's not long after that the Alabama Appeals Court they rule on that appeal in which Carrie Wit and Solomon's charges were dropped, and guess what, They completely reverse the lower court's ruling on the charges against both Wit and Solomon, saying that it was unconstitutional for them both to be arrested, and the charges are then laid back on the table. Now they're both scheduled for trial again. And in twenty twenty one, Wet just days out from her trial, two days from her trial, she cuts a deal. She cops a plee.

26:33 She knows she's in for some shit and she was facing twenty years in prison, so she cops a deal because she's probably going to go to jail, and as part of that deal, she gets a ten year prison sentence. Now, eighteen months of that is actually in prison. Then it's followed by eighteen months in what's done as a community corrections program, which is like a halfway house. And the rest of that was like a sentence, but it was suspended so she wouldn't have to be in prison for long. Now as far as David Solomon, guess what, nothing out there I could find. So I just don't know whatever happened with David Solomon. If you're listening and you do, please message me and let me know and I'll keep my peeps updated on here. But there's one more surprise to this case. Remember that school had paid out over one hundred and forty two thousand dollars in salary and benefits to Miswit. Well, they wanted that back, and in twenty twenty two they actually sued Carrie Wit in court and in the end, Carrie Wit is ordered to pay back one hundred thousand dollars in restitution to Decatur District Schools.

27:55 And that's the right decision. And shout out to them for chasing that and getting it back so the taxpayers could get their bunny back. I thought that was great. But as of today, Carrie Witt is out of jail and in the probation phase of her sentence, she's required to register as a sex offender throughout her probation, which is approximately five more years. And there you have it now on my Bad Teacher Consequence scale. I do this with all my Bad Teacher State Series episodes. State of Alabama. You get a C minus for the major screw up initially with this case. So there you have it. Another Bad Teacher State Series episode is beyond us the state of Alabama. Not sure where I'm going to go next time I join you. I do have some other cases unrelated to Bad Teachers that I am working on currently that I'm going to be dropping. Got a bonus episode, I mean for all my Patreon members, so I want to say that, thank you so much. I can't tell you folks who support me on Patreon how much I love and appreciate you. I could not do this show without the support of my celebrity members on Patreon. I am blessed to have you, and I'm going to be ramping up some things just for you upcoming. Thank you so much for your support. If you would like to

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30:26 And I do that because I want you. I want you to feel like you're getting a lot of bang for your buck and it helps to support this show. So thank you so much, and until next time for Exposed Scandalous Files of the Elite, I'm your host, Jim Chapman. Much love,