Prison reform advocate gets 40-year sentence in jail scheme

By JONATHAN MATTISE
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A longtime prison reform advocate has been sentenced to 40 years behind bars for hiding guns, ammunition, handcuff keys and hacksaw blades inside the walls of Nashville’s new jail while it was being built. Judge Steve Dozier sentenced 53-year-old Alex Friedmann after a jury convicted him in July of vandalism that caused more than $250,000 in damage. Friedmann didn’t testify at his trial and investigators couldn’t pinpoint a reason for his actions. But he has since said his actions were the result of a mental breakdown triggered by memories of being raped in jail decades ago. In a related case in federal court, Friedmann pleaded guilty in August to being a felon in possession of a firearm.