Harry Still faces trial on Bay Minette assault charge

December 1, 2025 – BAY MINETTE – Prominent Baldwin County Attorney Harry Still III faces trial in the Bay Minette municipal court this afternoon for assault. The case has stirred political and legal tensions in Baldwin County. Still is an attorney, former political candidate, and prominent podcaster. He finds himself at the center of a contentious legal storm. Still was indicted on charges of assaulting Bay Minette City Councilman Matt Franklin. Recent developments have cast doubt on the strength-and perhaps even the legitimacy-of those charges.

On September 29, 2025, prosecutors abruptly dropped the charges against Still, though they signaled their intent to refile them with revised language, specifically inserting the term "reckless" into the complaint. Still's defense attorney, Christine Hernandez, had filed a motion to dismiss the charges with prejudice, which would have barred any future prosecution on the same grounds. However, that motion was denied, leaving the door open for renewed legal action.

Hernandez has been vocal in her criticism of the prosecution, accusing Bay Minette City Attorney Liam Sculley of misconduct. According to Hernandez, Sculley dismissed key defense witnesses before the scheduled trial.

Despite her being delayed due to a concurrent capital murder trial in Mobile County Hernandez wanted to hold the trial back in September.

"I was ready for a trial," Hernandez stated, emphasizing that it was the prosecution-not the defense-that was unprepared to go to trial.

Since then, audio of the incident has been released has made the prosecution's accounting of the facts in the case highly dubious.

The incident in question involves an altercation between Still and Councilman Franklin – longtime friends turned fierce political rivals. Prosecutors claim that Still pushed Franklin to the ground and stomped on him, framing the act as part of a broader pattern of intimidation.

Still has categorically denied those allegations. He asserts that Franklin hit him in the chin and then fell to ground in the short shoving match that followed. An enraged Franklin can be heard on the audio tape threatening to murder both Still and his dog, Mr. Roo. Still said that Franklin grabbed the dog by the head, provoking Still to put him in an arm bar as a defensive reaction to Franklin's hostile moves. Still can be heard on the audio saying: "say uncle" which is consistent with Still's account.

The case is further complicated by the political backdrop. Still, a former Republican candidate for Alabama Attorney General and a 2020 mayoral challenger in Bay Minette, has been a vocal critic of the city's leadership. He has publicly accused former Mayor Bob Wills, whom he ran against in 2020 and Police Chief Al Tolbert of using aggressive policing as a money making strategy for the city while intimidating the Black minority in the city – plus anyone else who has somehow found disfavor by Wills and Tolbert. That aggressive style of policing may have contributed to a traffic stop where a young Black man, Otis French Jr., was gunned down by a Bay Minette police officer. Still heavily criticized the methods used by Chief Tolbert as did French's father – Otis French Sr. Coincidentally, French Sr. had just led a community event to discuss Tolbert's aggressive police methods which some in the community thought were harassment.

Wills had just lost election to Joshua Brown when the argument between Still (a Brown supporter) and Franklin (a close political ally of Wills) occurred.

Tolbert, whose conduct was a major election issue, has since resigned his position as Bay Minette police chief. He has since joined the Baldwin County Sheriff's office. The Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit (which operates under the governance of the Sheriff's Department) cleared the Bay Minette Police Department of any wrongdoing in the French shooting. The French family have filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit over his death.

Still's trial is scheduled for Monday afternoon.

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