Amid a national debate over the use of pandemic relief funds, Alabama lawmakers swiftly approved a plan to tap $400 million to help build two super-size prisons.
FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2019, file photo, a sign reads,"HELP," in the window of an inmate cell seen during a tour by state officials at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala. Alabama lawmakers return to Montgomery on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021, to vote on a $1.3 billion prison construction plan proponents say will help address the state’s longstanding problems in corrections, but critics argue the troubles go much deeper and won’t be remedied with brick, mortar and bars.
With legislative leaders standing behind her, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bills into law soon afterward. The Republican called the construction plan “a major step forward” for the prison system, which faces various federal court orders and a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice.President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue package was signed in March, providing a stream of funds to states and cities to recover from thepandemic.
The plan drew opposition from many Democrats in the House of Representatives, but had minimal dissenting votes in the state Senate, where senators approved the use of the pandemic money in a 30-1 vote and the overall construction plan in a 29-2 vote. U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York this week sent a letter to Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen asking her to “prevent the misuse of ARP funding by any state, including Alabama” to build prisons.
The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Alabama over a prison system “riddled with prisoner-on-prisoner and guard-on-prisoner violence.” The Justice Department noted in an earlier report that dilapidated facilities were a contributing factor to the unconstitutional conditions but wrote “new facilities alone will not resolve” the matter because of problems in culture, management deficiencies, corruption, violence and other problems.
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