AL Prison Opens Pre-Release Center
A newly completed building at Limestone Correctional Facility will be a transitional center for inmates where they learn to better handle life outside of prison. The goal is to have fewer of them return, Alabama Department of Corrections officials say.
The 300-bed pre-release center was formerly an Alabama Corrections Industries warehouse that was renovated by Martin and Cobey Construction Co. as a dormitory-style facility, said DOC spokesman Brian Corbett. While prisons state wide have similar programs, Limestone County’s is the most intensive, said Elana M. Parker, Re-Entry Program coordinator for the DOC. The facility opened about a month ago and inmates already have been moved to the facility to go through the program, she said. Limestone was chosen for the more in-depth program because this “institution had space, capability, and staff,” she said …
“It prepares people to go out and look for a job, gives them communication skills and health education information, teaches them how to dress, talks about addiction recovery and how to find a community resource organization to assist with the transition and reintegrate them with their families and the community,” Parker said. “It introduces different phases of behavior modification so inmates have a pool of information to get out and adopt a healthier lifestyle so that they will not re-offend and come back into the system.”
