In re: State of Alabama v. Mason John Grimes

── In re: State of Alabama v. Mason John Grimes ── Case No.: SC-2025-0172 Court: Supreme Court of Alabama Date: March 13, 2026 Author: Chris McCool Category: General Rel: March 13, 2026 Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0650), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is printed in Southern Reporter. SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA OCTOBER TERM, 2025-2026 _________________________ SC-2025-0172 _________________________ Ex parte Mason John Grimes PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS (In re: State of Alabama v. Mason John Grimes) (Blount Circuit Court: CC-24-208) _________________________ SC-2025-0279 _________________________ SC-2025-0172 and SC-2025-0279 Ex parte Brooklyn Paige Grimes PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS (In re: State of Alabama v. Brooklyn Paige Grimes) (Blount Circuit Court: CC-24-207) McCOOL, Justice. Mason John Grimes and Brooklyn Paige Grimes ("the petitioners") have each filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the Blount Circuit Court ("the circuit court") erred by denying them bail while they each await trial on a charge of capital murder. See § 13A-5- 40, Ala. Code 1975. For the reasons set forth herein, we deny the petitions. Facts and Procedural History The petitioners were denied bail following evidentiary hearings and are currently awaiting trial. Because the petitioners have yet to face trial, we will not provide a detailed discussion of the evidence that was presented in the bail hearings, and we do not find such a discussion to be 2 SC-2025-0172 and SC-2025-0279 necessary. See Wilbanks v. State, 40 Ala. App. 682, 683, 122 So. 2d 559, 560 (1960) ("Where (as here) a trial before a petit jury is pending, it has been our practice not to discuss the tendencies of the evidence on the proceeding for bail."). Rather, it is sufficient to set forth only the following undisputed facts: that the petitioners are a married couple who have served as foster parents on various occasions; that, in 2022, the Marshall County Department of Human Resources ("DHR") obtained custody of E.E., an infant, because his parents "couldn't care for him and he was fail[ing] to thrive"; that, at that time, E.E. suffered from various health issues, which required, among other treatments, a feeding tube and frequent hospitalization; that, in August 2022, DHR placed E.E. in the petitioners' custody when he was approximately three months old; and that E.E. died in November 2023 while still in the petitioners' custody. In July 2024, a Blount County grand jury indicted the petitioners for capital murder, alleging that they had intentionally caused the death of E.E., who was less than 14 years of age at the time of his death.1 See 1The indictments also include charges of intentional murder, see § 13A-6-2(a)(1), Ala. Code 1975; felony murder, see § 13A-6-2(a)(3), Ala. Code 1975; and aggravated child abuse, see § 26-15-3.1, Ala. Code 1975. 3 SC-2025-0172 and SC-2025-0279 § 13A-5-40(a)(15). The petitioners each filed a motion requesting bail, which the State of Alabama ("the State") opposed, and the circuit court held back-to-back hearings on the motions on the same day in December 2024. At the beginning