Samford University Cumberland School of Law’s Externship Program provides opportunities for students to gain experience in the legal world and apply their classroom knowledge. During the fall 2023 semester, Cumberland students had the opportunity to experience firsthand the important and humbling task of helping incarcerated individuals be granted parole through a partnership with Alabama-based nonprofit, Redemption Earned.

Redemption Earned is a nonprofit organization created by Sue Bell Cobb, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Their mission is to identify, assist and represent incarcerated individuals, typically aged or medically infirmed, who are deemed to have earned parole or work release.

Sydney Moore, a second-year student at Cumberland School of Law, recently won parole for a Redemption Earned client on Oct. 31. Moore is currently a legal extern at Redemption Earned through Cumberland School of Law’s externship program. Moore said, “Through this program and my externship, I have been able to gain valuable skills and knowledge regarding the parole and work release systems in Alabama and client advocacy.”

Moore attended a parole hearing for a client of Redemption Earned and advocated alongside one of her supervising attorneys and mentors, Ashleigh Woodham, in front of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles in Montgomery, Alabama.

Their client was granted medical parole contingent upon his placement in a medical facility, which was the desired outcome. Moore said, “This experience allowed me to zealously advocate for an individual who is deserving of parole and is no threat to public safety, ending in a victory. I am very grateful to my supervisors at Redemption Earned, Justice Cobb, Ashleigh Woodham, and Brandy Grondin, for trusting me with such an important role, and to Professor Davey for providing externship experiences for students that help mold us into competent attorneys outside of the classroom.”