Sherrie Johnson v. Ryan Conner

HUCK, District Judge:

We are called upon to determine whether a recently amended Alabama statute granting sovereign immunity to jailers, which is silent on retroactivity, applies retroactively or only prospectively. Ala.Code § 14-6-1. 1 For the reasons discussed below, we find that the traditional presumption against retroactivity applies here. Therefore, the new grant of immunity does not shield the jailers, Appellants in this case, from liability for their alleged pre-amendment acts. Because we do not apply the statute retroactively, we do not reach the issue of whether the jailers would…