Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary series giving us a deep insight into the deadliest prison system in the nation, HBO Max’s ‘The Alabama Solution’ is an intriguing and haunting original. It incorporates not only the accounts of incarcerated inmates via exclusive interviews but also footage of alleged abuse and neglect that they describe they were exposed to inside, so as to highlight their reality. Among them is Raoul Poole, also known as Ricardo Mundez Poole Sr., one of the few leaders of the Free Alabama movement, responsible for coordinating efforts between prisons, inmates, and filmmakers.
Raoul Poole’s Criminal History Includes Both Violent and Non-Violent Offenses
A native of Bessemer, Alabama, Ricardo Mundez Poole was a teenager when he fell into the wrong crowd and inadvertently got involved in illegal activities. According to court records, he was 18 when he was arrested back in 1973 for a robbery, for which he was later sentenced to life in prison. Instead of trying to pay his debts to society quietly, the young male allegedly decided to double down on his criminality as he tried to get away from serving his sentence despite the legal proceedings.
Raoul reportedly attempted to escape prison in 1994, but he failed, and it added 7 years to his sentence. Less than a year later, in early, he got involved in violence and was convicted of the additional charges of assault and manslaughter, for which he was handed down 15 years each. This made his total sentence time life plus 37 years, albeit with parole. His ensuing years reportedly didn’t get better as he found himself engaging in contraband trade as well as drugs, only to eventually somehow manage to get into the rehabilitation program after a few years.
As per the show, Raoul eventually got clean and began helping others in the program too, along the way of which he learned of the Free Alabama Movement. He himself had reportedly seen a lot of the alleged atrocities and failures of the system, including when the program director left after showing him the ropes. Therefore, he reportedly decided to join the movement head-on and gradually evolved into an internal leader, doing his best to coordinate efforts within the prison and raise awareness with the outside world in the hopes of bringing about a lasting change. He never expected to be in this position, but he has reportedly embraced it with his arms wide open.
Despite an Additional Federal Conviction, Raoul Poole Remains Incarcerated in a State Prison
While Raoul’s alleged activism hasn’t waivered in years, according to the Department of Justice records, he is also a member of the Gangster Disciples, which is a violent national criminal gang. As per reports, this gang was founded in Chicago but is active all across the US, including Alabama, resulting in several inmates being a part of it too. Thus, it was as a member of this criminal organization that Raoul not only became involved in but also led an extensive prison-based conspiracy from September 2020 to May 2022. As per federal records, he actually led a group of his fellow inmates housed at the maximum-security Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, Alabama, into committing a large-scale smuggling conspiracy.
According to records, Raoul had his fellow inmates use their contraband cell phones to call Home Depot stores and trick employees into activating pre-paid gift cards. Then, they used these gift cards as a way to benefit themselves by gaining access to them via “social engineering techniques and spoofing technology.” In other words, the inmates tricked the employees of stores and defrauded Home Depot for their gift cards, which they then used to make purchases for themselves. As if that’s not enough, Raoul even conspired with others to smuggle controlled narcotic substances such as meth and heroin in prison by having them thrown over the perimeter fence.
Raoul had reportedly told a conspirator that he had connections to have the drugs be “thrown over or I can have it placed somewhere out there and have it brought in. Therefore, in April 2023, he pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and aggravated identity theft. A year later, on April 4, 2024, he was sentenced to 234 months in prison, likely to be served after his term in state prison. Therefore, today, at the age of 51, he is incarcerated at the medium-security Bullock Correctional Facility in Union Springs, Alabama. According to state records, he has been in prison for over 32 years as of writing and has been denied parole 4 times, most recently in 2024. His next parole consideration date is in January 2026.
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