Alabama has closed a bond deal to build two supersize prisons, housing up to 4,000 prisoners each, even as inmates filed a lawsuit seeking to block the project.
The Alabama Finance Department said the bond sale, which had been approved last month, was finalized Tuesday. That came a day after a lawsuit was filed challenging the use of pandemic relief funds to pay part of the construction cost.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and lawmakers approved the massive construction project as a solution to the state’s ongoing prison woes. Critics of the construction plan argue the state is ignoring the bigger issues in prison staffing levels and leadership.
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