Ivey’s Study Group Proposes Prison Reforms Ahead of Legislative Session
Gov. Kay Ivey’s Study Group on Criminal Justice Policy made suggestions Tuesday after months of reviewing the state’s troubled prison system.
Members of the task force say they support an expansion of programs that are an alternative to prison. They also recommended an increase in mental health and addiction services. Other proposals included re-classifying some offenses to ones that would ease prison sentences.
State Rep. Chris England, a Democrat from Tuscaloosa, says he supports several of these reform efforts.
“I think we’ve had 20 to 30 or 40 years of the lock-everybody-up mentality and you can see where it has gotten us,” England says. “So I think it’s time to try something different, and I think it’s time to try something revolutionary.”
Some lawmakers voiced support for the state’s plan to build new prisons, saying new buildings are necessary to improve conditions and healthcare.
State Sen. Cam Ward, a Republican from Alabaster, says Alabama has long neglected its prisons and construction is “just 10% of the answer.” He says state leaders need to fund more educational programs for inmates, including GED and technical training.
“We can solve this if we invest in long term solutions,” Ward says.
Before Tuesday’s meeting, a group of prison reform advocates held a rally in front of the offices for the state Department of Corrections. Dothan pastor Kenneth Glasgow led the group as they marched to the state house, chanting “enough is enough.”
“How many deaths, how many suicides, how many overdoses, how many inmate on inmate killings, how many officer on inmate killings is it gonna take for the Department of Justice or the Governor Ivey or somebody to say, ‘hey enough is enough’,” Glasgow said.
Ahead of today’s meeting of Gov Ivey’s criminal justice study group, advocates marched from ADOC offices to the AL state house. Citing recent inmate deaths, they yelled “enough is enough” & asked for external oversight of ADOC operations. pic.twitter.com/0EdhZ9Ln6s
— Mary Scott Hodgin (@maryscotthodgin) January 14, 2020
Advocates are calling for external oversight of the Department of Corrections, and they want formerly incarcerated people to be part of reform efforts.
The state and Gov. Ivey have faced mounting pressure to improve Alabama’s violent and overcrowded prisons after multiple inmates died in 2019. The U.S. Department of Justice released a scathing report of Alabama’s prison system.
The study group says it will release a report in the coming weeks with its final recommendations ahead of the 2020 legislative session.
For many U.S. Olympic athletes, Italy feels like home turf
Many spent their careers training on the mountains they'll be competing on at the Winter Games. Lindsey Vonn wanted to stage a comeback on these slopes and Jessie Diggins won her first World Cup there.
Immigrant whose skull was broken in 8 places during ICE arrest says beating was unprovoked
Alberto Castañeda Mondragón was hospitalized with eight skull fractures and five life-threatening brain hemorrhages. Officers claimed he ran into a wall, but medical staff doubted that account.
Pentagon says it’s cutting ties with ‘woke’ Harvard, ending military training
Amid an ongoing standoff between Harvard and the White House, the Defense Department said it plans to cut ties with the Ivy League — ending military training, fellowships and certificate programs.
‘Washington Post’ CEO resigns after going AWOL during massive job cuts
Washington Post chief executive and publisher Will Lewis has resigned just days after the newspaper announced massive layoffs.
In this Icelandic drama, a couple quietly drifts apart
Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason weaves scenes of quiet domestic life against the backdrop of an arresting landscape in his newest film.
After the Fall: How Olympic figure skaters soar after stumbling on the ice
Olympic figure skating is often seems to take athletes to the very edge of perfection, but even the greatest stumble and fall. How do they pull themselves together again on the biggest world stage? Toughness, poise and practice.
