#52 Sit down interview with Pamela Casey, Hunter and The BOTL Bracket Challenge Update - Bubba On the Lake

Transcript

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This podcast is brought to you in part by Russell Lands Coke Buffalo Wild Wings, Southern Immediate Care Guaranteed Labels, Central State bank, Sunrise Docks, Dr. Thomas Dudney and the Green Monster Fishing Light. Now back to Bubba on the Lake. B U double B A on the lake hey wishing I could listen to the show every day hey gotta hear what Bubba his buddies gotta say on B U double B A on the lake in the mellow yellow studio putting on a show Betty say what she always on the go we got on a bus sitting that master control don't wanna miss a moment cause Bubba's got the flow B U double B A on the lake hey wishing not to listen to the show every day hey gotta hear what Bubba and his buddies gotta say on B U double B A on the lake Hey B U. On the lake hello again, friends, neighbors and associates everywhere. Welcome to the podcast Bubba on the Lake. I am your semi retired, mostly washed up post, formerly the Rick and Bubba show and now your host of Bubba on the Lake, also known as the people's Podcast. Keep those cards and letters coming, folks, to Bubba at Bubba on the lake.com. of course, that's our website, bub on the lake.com and our comment line 308 Big Lake. Always enjoy hearing those. Always want to remind everybody to, to subscribe, turn on notifications, follow us on our social media and especially Instagram, Bub on the Lake. And we want to keep you up to date with everything going on here on the program. And we've got some really, really fun things coming up here this spring and we don't want you to miss a minute of it. Speaking of that, if you go to the website under merchandise, we have the new tumblers out. We have a colorful one and we have an understated black one. Now these are really quality tumblers. A lot of you have been asking me about these. I know you, you love these when you go out on the water, when you're out pickleballing, tennis, just driving to work. People love these big tumblers and they, you know, they fit down in a normal cup holder. But I'll tell you what I like about these. They are really good quality. Now, they're a little expensive, but that's, that's what tumblers run nowadays, unfortunately. But, but what I like is the top screws on. If you've ever had one of these that fits in with the friction, I mean, it is a knuckle buster trying to get that thing on and off. And usually what I do, I'll have a little Bit of drink in it. I'll try to get the top off to put more and I end up throwing it all over myself. I know many of you have had that same result. So these screw on, they're real tight, they don't leak. The cap fits so well and we're really, really proud of those. So check those out. If you go to the website, bub on the lake.com hit the is it store or merchandise? How do we label that one under there? Let me look at that right quick so I can be 100% it's under store. If you hit store then you go into it and you have some choices. You have the bub on the lake side and you have the tailgate, tailgate show side. And you can go through and look at that merchandise. And we're going to have some more coming online very soon. So we're be sure to always check back on that. Also, another item I wanted to mention to you because I get this all the time, people who miss the old radio show, Rick and Bubba, pass the gravy, please. Well, you know, we have a Rick and Bubba greatest hits podcast and it comes out every week with some more of 31 years put in there. Real nice and neat. Some of y' all are concerned I was not getting my cut. I am getting my cut. It's okay. It's all good. And I've listened to it a few times to just reminisce. A lot of fun, 31 great years. So enjoy that. If you're missing the old radio show, I would highly encourage you to check it out. It's doing real well too. Alright, so a lot going on here. Couple of things. Pamela Casey, who is the district attorney in Blount county in Alabama is going to be our guest. She's running for the Attorney General of the state of Alabama. Now, we don't do a lot of political stuff on here, especially more local stuff to Alabama. But I'd met these, both of these ladies and they're two of the many running on the Republican side. And I just want you to get to know them a little bit better. I think a lot of times in some of these races we don't, you know, we don't really get to know them. I mean, you, you, you see their commercials, you know, you see the standard commercial in our state, you got to be shooting a gun and petting a dog and you know, all that stuff. But I wanted to give you a chance to hear from them in their own words a little bit. Now we're not going to do a lot of that because I hear you. I know a lot of you get so put out with politics, you don't want anything to do with it. But the attorney general is an important job because they are the ones that enforce our Constitution when we get out of bounds. And they also comment and chime in to the Supreme Court when we have big cases there. So it's an important role. We're not endorsing anybody here. We just want you to meet some of these people, hear them in their own words in a longer format, which I think is. Is really, really cool. So we're also going to hear from Hunter on the bracket update, and, man, that bracket is a mess. Now just finish watching the Yukon comeback to beat Duke at the buzzer. What a finish. You know, I know some of you are not big basketball fans, but I'm gonna tell you, March Madness is. If you don't watch basketball any other time, this is time to watch it. What a game. UConn was down, I think about 19 at one point, 15 at the half. And they just chipped away, Chipped away, chipped away and made a shot almost half court. I would say it was between the three point line and half court with less than a second left. Less than a second by a guy who was not having a good game. I mean, you just can't make this kind of stuff up. Hunter will talk more about it when we check in with him toward the end of the show. He's going to give us a bracket update. We're down to the final four. I'm afraid, afraid to look at mine. It was destroyed early. But I will, I'm going to take a peek and see just how bad it is. We'll. We'll take a look at it. So. All right, so there's the update. I had some email. Don't think I'm gonna get to it this time. We'll do it next time. I want you to get plenty of time with Pamela Casey and also a little bit of time with Hunter to talk about March Madness. So thank you for being a part of this. And as always, I want to remind you, please help us spread the word. I mean, it is every day I run into somebody that says, love the radio show. Miss hearing you on there. I get a lot of email to that effect. And I always say, are you listening to the podcast? And I mean, it's almost 70% will say no, I don't, I don't know how to get it. I don't know how to get it. So it's real easy. Find that podcast app on your phone, search Bub on the lake, and then subscribe or follow or whatever their lingo is for that. And then it'll be on your phone when we publish a new one. It can't be any easier than that. And then you plug it in through carplay or whatever you use in your car and it's right there in the stereo. I mean, it's in the speakers and it's, it's clear and you can stop and start it when you want to. I mean, it's hard to beat. All right, so folks, we'll get started. Pamela Casey is going to be our guest when we come back in just a minute. Thank you for being part of Bubba on the Lake.

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Bubba On the Lake
Episode: #52 – Sit Down Interview with Pamela Casey, Hunter, and the BOTL Bracket Challenge Update
Date: April 1, 2026
Host: Bill "Bubba" Bussey
Theme:
This episode spotlights a candid, in-depth interview with Pamela Casey, Blount County’s District Attorney and candidate for Alabama Attorney General. Bubba’s conversation dives into Pamela’s roots, legal career, and approach to public service, highlighting behind-the-scenes realities of prosecution, the intricacies of running for state office, and the heavy emotional toll of seeking justice—especially for children. The episode also features a lively March Madness Final Four bracket update from Hunter Bussy and some light-hearted banter about local lake life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pamela Casey: Background, Work Ethic, and Legal Experience

Pamela’s Upbringing:
- Grew up in a rural, working-class family in Snead, AL, “free lunch poor before everybody got free lunch.”
- Parents did not graduate high school; Pamela worked at Alamix Barbecue from age 15 and bought her first car herself.
- Involved in volleyball, basketball, track, and student government.
  - [16:41] Pamela: “I was a worker. And, you know, I was a little scrappy is what they told me. I bet you were. I'm still scrappy... Scrappy gets it sometimes.”
Educational Journey:
- High school at Susan Moore, then Rhodes College, then Seattle University School of Law.
- Motivation to leave home: loss of her dad senior year, desire for independence, and Seattle’s top-ranked legal writing program and scholarships.
  - [11:27] Pamela: "My dad died my senior year of high school, and I kind of was like, I wanted to get away from home... Seattle had the number one legal writing program in the country, and they threw me some scholarship money.”
Legal Career:
- Licensed in Washington State and Alabama; began at the AG’s office in capital litigation (death penalty cases), before becoming Blount County DA in her late 20s.
- Been DA since 2010 (three terms), first woman elected in Blount County, overcame skepticism about age, gender, and marital status.

2. Realities of Prosecutorial Work

The Emotional Toll:
- Handles every death in the county; often gets midnight calls, has prosecuted multiple child predator cases—emotionally draining.
  - [13:45] Pamela: “Every time we have a death in our county, I get a call... one of my main priorities has been prosecuting child predators. And so I'm having to constantly listen to these young kids talk about horrific things.”
- On the challenges:
  - [14:18] Bubba: “Seem like it would just be depressing. I mean, I'm glad somebody's doing it, don't get me wrong.”
Work-Life Balance:
- Married to a teacher; balances campaign and DA duties with raising two energetic children.
  - [28:38] Pamela: “My two are... active, but Lord, one of mine... it's non stop, he is a talker, talker.”
Taking Kids Along for Civic Lessons:
- [30:02] “I take the kids with me, too, sometimes when I'm speaking at night. I want them to understand how it works with elections... They’ve only known their mom as DA.”

3. Philosophy and Approach to Justice

On Death Penalty Cases:
- Strong proponent, but only pursues capital punishment when confident in the evidence.
  - [31:33] Pamela: “If I pursue the death penalty, I feel beyond a shadow of a doubt this person's guilty... The most recent case we had was an 18 month old that was beat to death... I had no problem standing in front of that jury and saying, I think you should put this man to death.”
- Believes in strict penalties for child predators (“wired to be evil”), doubts rehabilitation for pedophilia.
  - [34:56] “I just think that you need to be where you can never touch another child. And really it's... just they are wired to be evil.”
Relationship with Law Enforcement:
- Deep respect for officers; highlights public mistrust as a major concern.
  - [24:12] Bubba: “There’s been a big push to make law enforcement distrustful by our politicians.”
  - [24:50] Pamela: “So the same people you're talking bad about are the same people you expect to show up when something bad happens in your life.”
Experience as Both Leader and Working Attorney:
- Proud of hands-on style; doesn’t ask staff to do anything she wouldn’t do.
  - [49:06] Pamela: “I could try the cases, I could write the briefs, I could argue the cases... I would never ask you to do something I haven't done or wouldn't do myself.”

4. Campaign Trail: Running for Attorney General of Alabama

Motivation:
- Urges need for an experienced prosecutor to lead the office, especially since it oversees all criminal appeals and capital cases statewide.
  - [26:24] “One reason why I'm running is I believe that we should have an experienced prosecutor managing that office. Over half the staff there handles our criminal appeals, our capital litigation...”
Campaign Style & Strategy:
- Emphasizes positive campaigning and personal reputation over negative ads or splashy spending.
  - [50:29] Pamela: “I don't run a negative campaign... If I'm spending time talking about my opponent, then that means I ain't got anything good to say for itself.”
- Focuses on North Alabama as the “vote powerhouse,” does much campaign work herself, spends funds conservatively ($50,000 so far).
  - [51:33] “If I had $2 million in the bank, everybody thought, well, of course you could win... But I believe God's got a story in this.”
- Believes voters are “sick of the money” in politics; leverages social media more than traditional TV/radio.
  - [53:19] Bubba: “How important is social media now in a campaign?”
  - [53:46] Pamela: “Wouldn't you love to see the bloopers of right before that video?... I'm that girl from the country. I can actually shoot.”

5. Memorable Moments and Quotes

On being the subject of skepticism:
- [46:07] “I was poor, I was free lunch poor before everybody got free lunch... Blount county had never elected a woman... they told me I was too young, to wait my turn... I said, well, heck, I've been trying murder cases at the AG's office. They hadn't tried one here in 10 years.”
Balancing Act:
- [29:38] “He [her husband] said, well, I will support you 110%, and I think you'll regret it if you don't run.”
Humor on Courtroom Surprises:
- [41:14] Bubba: “You usually, if you have somebody in a trunk, you're not carrying them to dinners, you know.”
- [41:48] Pamela: “He had not seen the least bit hesitant the whole time. And so I remember just being so—”
- [41:43] Bubba: “What's that saying? You're not supposed to ask any question you don't already know the answer to.”
On Negative Political Ads:
- [53:53] Bubba: “They all do that. Walking across a dove field somewhere. That's standard... You got to have your orange hat.”
- [53:59] Pamela: “But wouldn't you love to see, like that before they ever start that or tell them how to dress, hold the gun. Yeah, I just don't.”

6. Medical Examiners & TV Realities vs. Real Life

Autopsies and Forensics:
- Bubba and Pamela delve into the gritty side of forensic work, celebrity pathologists (Joe Scott Morgan), and the “rock star” status of modern medical examiners.
- Graphic realities and scientific details of child abuse cases—using autopsy evidence for prosecution—are highlighted.
  - [38:19] Pamela: “They take a serrated knife and they're going to cut the organs... They can literally see if there is a blockage in the heart.”
- Pain and heartbreak of presenting medical findings to juries, especially in cases involving children.
  - [39:40] “The hardest ones for me have always been the children. We've had to do that... jurors who've never been a part of that are usually, when the medical examiner comes in, they're like, oh, yeah, all right, this is the guy.”

7. March Madness & BOTL Bracket Challenge Update

Recap with Hunter Bussy:
- Epic UConn comeback against Duke, buzzer-beater from nearly half-court; UConn, Illinois, Arizona, and Michigan make Final Four.
  - [59:58] Hunter: “We just got done watching Yukon and Duke and we had an absolute amazing 19 point comeback and buzzer beater from Yukon to take out the number one overall seed...”
- Bracket Standings:
  - “M Child” in first place—encouraged to update display name; Front runners have near-perfect 99%+ percentile brackets.
  - [61:53] Bubba: “Most of these people on the front page... all have a percentage of 98 or higher.”
- Bubba and Hunter commiserate over their own busted brackets and joke about the “Back to the Future” levels of accuracy among the leaders.
  - [63:40] Bubba: “They got the sports almanac, back to the future and came back. How else can you do that?”
- 757 bracket submissions; excitement over participation.
  - [64:28] Hunter: “We're very thankful and appreciative for everyone to participate.”

8. Local Updates & Closing Banter

Lake Life:
- Inside jokes about rural living—“what’s good here is you’re not close to anything, what’s bad is you’re not close to anything”—the joys of lake solitude, and casual lake conversations.
Jacksonville State University Happenings:
- Coaches show move to new location, Gamecocks’ bowling team ranked #1, and spring sports updates.
Movie plug:
- Short, enthusiastic plug for "Project Hail Mary" (space movie).
  - [70:35] Bubba: "But it's a great movie."
  - [70:36] Hunter: “It is. I've seen it twice now. It's really good. If you're a space person, it's your go to. For sure.”

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

[11:27] Pamela: "My dad died my senior year of high school... I wanted to get away from home... Seattle had the number one legal writing program in the country, and they threw me some scholarship money."
[13:45] Pamela: "Every time we have a death in our county, I get a call... One of my main priorities has been prosecuting child predators."
[24:28] Pamela: "These are men and women who are overworked, underpaid and understaffed [law enforcement]."
[31:33] Pamela: "If I pursue the death penalty, I feel beyond a shadow of a doubt this person's guilty."
[34:56] Pamela: "I don't believe that pedophiles can [be rehabilitated]... They are wired to be evil."
[50:29] Pamela: "I don't run a negative campaign. I'm going to tell you what's good about me and why you should elect me."
[53:19] Bubba: “How important is social media now in a campaign?”
[59:58] Hunter: “We just got done watching Yukon and Duke and we had an absolute amazing 19 point comeback and buzzer beater from Yukon...”
[63:40] Bubba: “They got the sports almanac, back to the future and came back. How else can you do that?”

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |--------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00–10:27 | Intro, Bubba’s housekeeping, setting up interview and bracket update | | 10:27–22:25 | Pamela Casey’s background, legal journey, and career overview | | 22:25–30:45 | The campaign trail, job challenges, family life, and why she's running | | 30:45–38:34 | Challenges of prosecuting, discussion of death penalty and law enforcement | | 38:34–46:07 | Forensics, autopsies, medical examiners, and court dynamics | | 46:07–54:57 | Life as Blount County DA, election experiences, campaign money and strategy | | 54:57–59:49 | Closing out Pamela segment, introduction to bracket challenge | | 59:49–68:54 | Hunter’s March Madness Update, bracket leaderboards and lake life humor | | 68:54–End | JSU sports updates, local happenings, movie recommendation, closing banter |

Final Notes

Episode Tone:
Conversational, candid, with classic “lake life” humor and southern warmth. Bubba’s friendly, down-to-earth style keeps even serious topics relatable. Pamela is earnest, direct, and passionate about public service.

Why Listen?
This episode offers an unusually detailed and personal look at a prosecutor running for statewide office, unvarnished discussion about public safety, and a relatable slice of Alabama life. The March Madness update and bracket banter bring energy, keeping things fun and familiar for long-time listeners.

Recommended For:
Fans of real-world legal talk, you-won't-see-this-on-TV courtroom stories, or anyone interested in Southern politics and small-town dynamism. The bracket challenge coverage and casual sports/lake talk round out an engaging, well-structured episode.