Beth Hughes is an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Alabama. Hughes, 53, and her husband, Tony Hughes Sr., who is the minister of Walnut Creek United Methodist Church, live outside of Clanton and have two children – Thomas, a sixth grade teacher at Clanton Middle School and Taylor, a junior at Huntingdon College in Montgomery.
PEACH LIVING MAGAZINE: How many years have you served as an assistant attorney general of Alabama?
BETH HUGHES: I have been an Assistant Attorney General for 25 years.
PL: What do you do as an assistant attorney general?
BH: I work in the Capital Litigation Division and handle death penalty cases.
PL: Describe what a typical day at work entails for you.
BH: Most of my days are spent researching and writing. The majority of my work is filing appellate briefs in the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, the Alabama Supreme Court, the federal district courts, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.
PL: What are your favorite aspects of your job?
BH: The favorite aspect of my job is seeing that justice is done for the victims of crimes and their families.
PL: What are some challenging aspects of your job?
BH: The most challenging aspect of my job is losing cases due to technicalities that have nothing to do with the guilt or innocence of the defendant. In those cases, justice is delayed once again for the victim’s families.
PL: What positions have you held in previous years?
BH: Prior to coming to the Capital Litigation Division, I worked in the Criminal Appeals Division of the AG’s office. I also was a staff attorney for Justice Hugh Maddox who served on the Alabama Supreme Court and a staff attorney for Judge Charles Wright on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals.
PL: How do national and global issues affect your work at the state level?
BH: There are many people across our country and the world who are opposed to the death penalty and who seek to end capital punishment. Because of the national and worldwide interest in capital punishment, it is not unusual for legislation to be introduced in each session of the Alabama legislature attempting to end capital punishment.
PL: How did you choose this career field?
BH: I have always been interested in the prosecution side of criminal law and in researching and writing. While clerking on the Alabama Supreme Court, several jobs opened up at the AG’s office in the Criminal Appeals Division which involved handling appeals from criminal convictions which opened the door for me to work in the appellate field. Several years later, I was approached about moving to the Capital Litigation Division which, to me, involves more complex issues and also gave me more of an opportunity to be involved with the families of victims of crimes.
PL: What have your experiences in this field taught you over the years?
BH: My experience over the years has taught me patience. The resolution of capital cases takes many years and can be very tedious.
PL: What hobbies and activities do you enjoy in your spare time?
BH: I enjoy watching the activities our children are involved in, I like to read, and most recently I have started getting in shape by running and exercising.
PL: If you could spend one day going anywhere and doing anything, where would you go and what would you do? Why?
BH: My favorite way of spending a day is with my family. Specifically, I enjoy going to the beach with my family and extended family. I enjoy sitting on the beach with a good book and family.
PL: What are your personal goals for the next 10 years?
BH: My personal goal for the next 10 years is to continue to work hard so that justice is done for the victims and their families and to retire.
PL: What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
BH: My faith in God is one of the most important things in my life. The best advice I received is to continue to strengthen my faith in God and to seek his will in everything that I do.
PL: What are your words to live by?
BH: My favorite Bible verse right now is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your understanding: in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”