Ivey Signs Contracts To Build Two Mega Prisons
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed contracts Monday morning to enter into 30-year lease agreements with CoreCivic, one of the nation’s largest private prison companies. The move has sparked sharp criticism from residents, activists and lawmakers.
Under the agreements, CoreCivic will build two mega prisons in Elmore and Escambia counties and lease them to the state.
It is the latest development in the state’s plan to replace most existing male prisons with three regional correctional facilities that will each house from 3,000 to 4,000 men.
“I am pleased that we have reached this important milestone in the Alabama Prison Program, the cornerstone of a multifaceted strategy to address the ADOC’s long standing challenges and failing prison infrastructure,” Ivey said in a statement Monday.
The governor and Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) officials have been pushing for new prisons for years as part of their plan to improve conditions in state prisons.
Alabama’s correctional facilities are among the nation’s most overcrowded and violent, detailed in two reports by the U.S. Department of Justice, which recently filed a lawsuit against the state.
But many residents, including lawmakers and activists, have objected to the plan, frustrated with the lack of information released by the state.
In the town of Tallassee, Alan Parker lives less than a mile from where CoreCivic will build one of the new prisons.
“There’s been no input from the legislature or any hearings or any of that sort of thing on the matter,” Parker said. “And we just feel like the whole process has been, really, a joke.”
Because the state will lease the new buildings, the plan does not require legislative approval. State officials have released few financial details about the contracts, citing a period of confidential negotiations. Based on most recent estimates, the state will pay close to $3 billion dollars to lease the facilities over 30 years.
While private companies will own and maintain the buildings, ADOC will continue to operate and staff state prisons.
Prisons commissioner Jeff Dunn said current infrastructure is falling apart due to “decades of inaction and a lack of resources.”
“These facilities will provide a safer, more secure environment in which our heroic staff can better deliver effective, evidence-based rehabilitative programming to our inmate population,” Dunn said in a statement.
Many advocacy groups argue that the new mega prisons will not fix chronic overcrowding and violence in the state’s correctional facilities.
Construction on the two CoreCivic prisons is expected to begin this year to be completed in 2025.
State officials continue to negotiate a final lease agreement for a third prison slated for Bibb County. That facility will be built by Alabama Prison Transformation Partners, a developer group that includes Birmingham-based construction company BL Harbert International.
Centrist Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivia’s presidential runoff, topping right-wing rival
Centrist senator Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's presidency with 54% of the vote, ending 20 years of rule by the Movement Toward Socialism party amid economic turmoil.
Trump announces tariffs and an end to U.S. aid to Colombia amid clash over drug trade
The U.S. will slash assistance to Colombia and enact tariffs on its exports because the country's leader, Gustavo Petro, "does nothing to stop" drug production, President Donald Trump said Sunday.
Sam Rivers, bassist and founding member of Limp Bizkit, dies aged 48
"Sam Rivers wasn't just our bass player — he was pure magic. The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound," Limp Bizkit said in a social media post Saturday.
Israel strikes Gaza as both IDF and Hamas accuse each other of breaching ceasefire
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday it responded after "terrorists" attacked troops operating in the Rafah area with gunfire and an anti-tank missile. Hamas said it was unaware of the clashes.
Masked thieves steal ‘priceless’ jewels from the Louvre museum
France's Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, called the heist "a major, highly organized operation" that lasted just seven minutes. Authorities were still drawing up the value of the stolen items.
Grab the goggles. Pickleball eye injuries are on the rise
Safety precautions haven't caught up with enthusiasm for the sport. Researchers call for a new push for eye-ware.
