“We don’t want the federal government ruling our prison system, and we are dangerously close to becoming another California,” says Alabama State Sen. Cam Ward
How Overcrowding Has Forced Alabama to Confront Its Prison Problem
By Heritage Foundation Josh Siegel——Bio and Archives--August 3, 2015
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Inside a maximum-security prison hidden in a nowhere part of Alabama, nearly 1,300 inmates live for the past, most incarcerated for violent crimes they can’t ever leave behind.
A wall lining the entryway to St. Clair Correctional Facility is inscribed with a hopeful quotation: “Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.” But the wisdom doesn’t exactly ring true in a state with a prison system so overcrowded (at 195 percent capacity) that basic needs go unmet.
Two hours south, in the historically rich state capital of Montgomery, the three governor-appointed members of Alabama’s parole board use their unique power to decide whether to free more fortunate prisoners—those eligible for early release.
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