Relatives of Alabama Inmates Call on Prisons Task Force to Improve Conditions
On the third floor of the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Dothan Pastor Kenneth Glasgow read aloud the names of 21 men who have died in Alabama prisons this year. Sandy Ray then showed a photo of her son Steven Davis, who was beaten to death two months ago by correctional officers at Donaldson Correctional facility.
“My son was beat,” Ray said. “We don’t do our dogs this way. Please, please, we have to have change.”
Mary Scott Hodgin, WBHM
Advocates labeled empty chairs with the names of 21 male inmates who have died in Alabama prisons this year.
Glasgow and Ray were among several prison reform advocates who gathered Wednesday ahead of a meeting of Gov. Kay Ivey’s study group on criminal justice policy. Ivey established the task force in July to discuss ongoing issues affecting the state’s prison system. Wednesday’s meeting marked the first time family members and former inmates were invited to share their stories and present reform proposals.
About 20 people addressed the group of lawmakers and state leaders. Legal experts discussed the need for additional sentencing reform and funding for local courts. The crowd applauded as advocates spoke about corruption inside prison and the need for programming, education and healthcare for inmates.
Albert Pugh, who spent 30 years in prison and now directs a re-entry program, shared some of the challenges inmates face once they are released.
“They get out and they don’t even have a social security card,” Pugh said. “They don’t have any kind of ID. I mean these things are things that the DOC could do to help them so that they could be ready to go to work when they hit the streets, because sometimes it takes weeks to get a person’s ID or get a driver’s license or things like this, just so he can get a job.”
Several people spoke out against the state’s plan to build three regional prisons to replace many aging male facilities. Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said new prisons are necessary to reform the system.
“What we heard today was people deeply concerned with the conditions in which their families are incarcerated under,” Dunn said, “and part of that problem is the facility issue.”
Dunn said the department is working to address issues like corruption and violence, but it takes time. He said their biggest focus is to hire more correctional officers.
The governor’s study group is expected to have its final meeting in January ahead of the 2020 legislative session.
Florida’s 6-week abortion ban will have a ‘snowball effect’ on residents across the South
Abortion rights advocates say the ban will likely force many to travel farther for abortion care and endure pregnancy and childbirth against their will.
Attitudes among Alabama lawmakers softening on Medicaid expansion
Alabama is one of ten states which has not expanded Medicaid. Republican leaders have pushed back against the idea for years.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
