Allred, Bentley faces off for district judge

District Judge Henry Allred will face challenger Samuel "Sam" Bentley in the Republican primary on Tuesday as Allred tries for a third term of office.

In a rare local Democratic Party challenge, the Republican nominee will face Democrat Seth L. Diamond as in the Nov. 2 General Election. Qualifying was made through the state parties.

Allred, 44, a Lamar County native, got a law degree at the University of Alabama in 2002 and served there as the student bar association president. He came to Jasper and went into private practice for six years. He was elected district judge in 2008, taking office the next year. He is married to Tana Collins-Allred. He has two daughters from a previous marriage, Libby, 14, and Addi, 10.

"I ran because I wanted to help people. I was primarily interested because of my background in youth ministry," he said, as he was a volunteer youth director at Jasper First United Methodist Church and taught senior high Sunday School for 12 years.

Allred has been the presiding juvenile court judge since 2009, and has presided over every type case filed in district court. He also said he also does "a lot of work that would be considered circuit court work," such as presiding over drug and veterans courts, which he said has been rewarding. He said he takes felony pleas and handles felony criminal cases.

"I'm very proud of the work we've done in juvenile court system. I feel like we have developed and improved a lot of existing resources," he said, including creating the Children's Advocacy Center and revising the Beacon House program. A juvenile detention center was started in the county to save thousands of dollars monthly from sending them to Anniston and get more room.

He said he visits all the schools in the county each year to understand the issues facing young people.

Allred was suspended in September after a complaint was filed with the state concerning a child custody issue filed by family members. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary in January allowed Allred back on the bench after a trial although the court did issue a reprimand concerning one sub-charge regarding his agreement to supervise a visitation of family members: “A judge should not allow his family...to influence his judicial conduct or judgment.”

He was previously reprimanded and censured in March 2013 by the Court of the Judiciary after making public comments on his Facebook page and in an email he sent to all state court judges about contempt proceedings then pending against a lawyer.

Allred said, "I've always done what I thought was right. I still thought what I did in those situations was right. I've been cleared on one of them. But unfortunately, in the times we live in, there is a lot less respect for the court system." At the same time, he said he could not tell the recent suspension hurt him politically.

Bentley, 57, grew up in the Delmar Community in Winston County and has lived in Walker County for 27 years. He graduated from Haleyville High School in 1980, got an undergraduate degree in business management from the University of North Alabama and a law degree from the Birmingham School of Law.

He worked for 10 years in Atlanta for a trucking company as a regional manager, worked as a waiter and has been a salesman. After being admitted in to the bar in 2001, he was in private practice in Walker County for the first 10 years, dealing with criminal, domestic relations, juvenile, civil and real estate cases. In 2011, he became the first director of the Public Defender's Office in the county, which he still serves as.

He and his wife, Cindy Harbison Bentley, have been married 21 years, and have two adults sons.

On why he is running for district judge, he sees room for improvement.

"Law enforcement in Walker County is making more arrests than it ever has before. Our county continues to suffer from crime, driven mostly by drug addiction," he said.

He wants to resolve cases faster and get accountability for the convicted quicker, by putting them in jail or on probation. "The biggest problem in the court system in 2020 is volume. We have a great deal of volume of criminal cases," meaning officials have to work harder, Bentley said.

Bentley said he is a "big believer" in court order drug rehab programs for non-violent offenders, adding the majority of those charged are non-violent and there is limited room for putting people in the Walker County Jail with the increase in arrests. He said it still gives accountability, gets one off the street, changes lives and saves money for taxpayers. Federal funding and support is also available for treating non-violent offenders to end "a revolving door" for criminals at the jail.

He said court could also be scheduled more often to accommodate the increase in arrests.

Bentley said as a first-time candidate he has "a new respect for anyone who runs for public office." He said he has enjoyed meeting new people and visiting areas he has not been to before, and learned more of what people think of how the judicial system operates. If elected, he wants to have breakfast constituent meetings around the county in local communities.

Asked about rating Allred's performance, Bentley read a statement.

"Judge Allred has served two terms," Bentley said. "In that time he has been suspended two times and has been disciplined for ethics violations two times. All this is public record. I believe the people have the right to hold their judges to high standards. I'm proud to say in 19 years as an attorney, I have never been subject to any questions regarding my ethics or my integrity, and I've certainly never faced discipline from Montgomery.

"My promise to Walker County is that as your district court judge I will always conduct myself in such a way that brings honor to the people I serve and the office I hold."