I’m starting to think the words Democrat and criminal are synonyms considering how many of them have a record.
Alabama state Rep. Kelvin Jamichael Lawrence, a Democrat from Lowndes County, pleaded guilty to felony charges on November 4, one day after winning re-election to the Alabama House of Representatives. Nothing says “mandate” quite like celebrating at your victory party and then heading to the courthouse the next morning.
Lawrence, 52, was first elected to the Alabama House in 2014 and has also served as mayor of Hayneville. He represents District 69, covering Lowndes County and parts of Autauga, Montgomery, and Wilcox counties. Back in 2024, he was arrested on charges of second-degree forgery and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument. Specifically, prosecutors say he used a falsely made, completed, or altered builder’s license with the intent to defraud. Classic resume padding, Democrat-style.
His GOP challenger, Josh Pendergrass, hammered Lawrence on the charges throughout the campaign. Didn’t matter. Lawrence pulled in roughly 67% of the vote to Pendergrass’s 37%. Apparently, two-thirds of the district heard “forgery with intent to defraud” and thought, “Yeah, that’s our guy.” You can read more about Lawrence’s guilty plea and re-election and decide for yourself what that says about the state of things.
Under the plea agreement, Lawrence was sentenced to 37 months with 12 months to serve, but was granted pre-trial diversion. That means no prison, for now. Instead, he must complete 300 hours of community service at an approved non-profit within a year and pay court costs plus a $3,000 fine. If he finishes the program, the charges get wiped out. If he doesn’t, he heads to prison. So his entire political future is riding on him actually showing up and doing the work, which, given everything, feels like a gamble.
Because he hasn’t been formally convicted of a felony, Lawrence is legally allowed to stay in his seat while completing the diversion program. He made that crystal clear. “Yes I still plan to serve,” he told 1819 News on November 9. “The diversion program was approved and agreed to by the Attorney General’s office and does not affect my public service.” Well, sure. Why let a little forgery get in the way of public service?
House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter had addressed Lawrence’s 2024 arrest with a statement saying, “I expect members of the Alabama House of Representatives to hold themselves to the highest standard of integrity in both their personal and professional lives.” Somewhere, the word “integrity” is filing a missing persons report.
Reaction on X was about what you’d expect. “Not only are these people criminals, they are incompetent criminals. How did he think he was going to get away with that?” one user wrote. Another noted, “You know he’s a Democrat, because had he been a Republican it would have been in the title of the article.” That one kind of writes itself. Lawrence stays in office, completes his community service, and if all goes according to plan, walks away with a clean record. The voters of District 69 got exactly what they voted for.
