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AL Warden Says His Prison Unsafe Due To Cuts

March 25th, 2009
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al-limestone-prisonWith more than 2,400 inmates, deteriorating facilities and not enough correctional officers, Alabama’s Limestone Correctional Facility is dangerous to its employees, said prison leaders and state legislators Monday.  Report from the Huntsville Times.

“It worries me more than it has in my entire career,” said warden Billy Mitchem. Added state Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Capshaw: “Personally, I think we’re in a crisis.”

Prison leaders toured the prison with legislators and media to help make their case for more money.  Mitchem said state budget cuts leave him 35 correctional officers shy of what he needs. He expressed concern for the roughly 200 prison employees who work with or near the inmates each day.   “(The cuts) are hurting us because I’m not able to man the security posts the way I should,” Mitchem said. “I want to keep my staff safe. I’m concerned about that.”

Space is tight in many areas of the prison. Rows of bunk beds cover the walking area of one cell block. The L dorm, as it’s called, houses 224 inmates. It’s supposed to hold 152. Some of the L dorm inmates are rapists and murderers, Mitchem said. In another dorm, home to about 400 more inmates, several more bunk beds cover the living area … “(If) you keep jamming inmates in these prisons like we’re doing … somebody’s going to be yelling for help,” said Wallace. “I just hope nobody gets hurt.”

vericatrajkova Alabama, Economic Issues, Overcrowding

Alabama Cuts May Not Be Needed

March 22nd, 2009
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alabama-doc2After a $1.5 billion infusion of Federal stimulus cash, Alabama’s fiscal problems may not lead to the drastic cuts in services that were anticipated.

The Department of Corrections has flirted with furloughs, even announcing a plan for as many as four furlough days to employees. But so far, none of the Corrections employees have had to take a furlough day, the department said Wednesday.  That pattern may hold for the rest of fiscal 2009, which ends June 30. Then, if the 2010 budget holds its current form, furloughs may be avoided altogether at state prisons.  “If nothing changes, it all looks good,” department budget director Ken Nash said in an e-mail forwarded to The Telegraph by a department spokeswoman.

Excerpted from a much broader article at Macon.com.

vericatrajkova Alabama, Economic Issues

Alabama DOC Raising Inmate Labor Rates

March 17th, 2009
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alabama-doc1The Alabama Department of Corrections began in October 2007 charging cities, counties and other governing bodies for labor done by prisoners, such as picking up trash along highways.  That price will go up by 50 percent in October as the department seeks to close a gap in funding, according to the Birmingham News.

This year, there is a $43.3 million difference in the funding the corrections department gets from the state of Alabama and the amount it takes to run the system. The department narrows the gap by charging for inmate squad labor, raising revenue through the prison work release program and other steps.   On Oct. 1, the start of fiscal 2010, the rate will increase from $10 per inmate, per day to $15.

For one agency, the Alabama Department of Transportation, the rate has already more than doubled. ALDOT started paying for inmate squads in the spring of 2007, and until recently was paying $20. In February, the rate rose to $50 per inmate per day, Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett said … Corrections Commissioner Richard Allen has estimated that the new rates will bring in about $3 million each year …

[In 2007], according to the department’s annual report, inmate squads from 14 state prison facilities performed 103,000 man-hours per month, “equivalent to a labor savings of almost $6 million to government agencies within the state.”  In the spring of 2007, Allen said he got permission from Gov. Bob Riley to begin charging for the work squad labor. He put his plan into operation in the year’s final quarter, when the department asked the state and local agencies to consider paying. More than $15,000 in fees came in … That $15,000 sum was dwarfed by fees earned in fiscal 2008. In that year, Corbett said, inmate squads worked more than 1.3 million hours and generated nearly $1.2 million in fees. If the inmates had been working for minimum wage, the fees would have amounted to more than $6.9 million, Corbett said.  Unlike inmates in work release, who generally keep 60 percent of what they earn in civilian jobs, those on the work squads earn $2 a day.

vericatrajkova Alabama, Inmate Labor

Work Release Rules Eased In Alabama

March 10th, 2009
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alabama-docThe Alabama Department of Corrections expects work-release inmate hires will increase now that a policy requiring their employers to have a business license has been withdrawn.  Report from the Montgomery Advertizer.

The policy was imposed during the three-year term of Corrections Commissioner Donal Campbell, who left the job in 2006. It virtually ended the day labor option for the only inmates eligible for it — those at the state’s 11 work release centers … At the work-release center in Decatur, about 20 individuals have hired inmates for day labor since the policy was changed. Inmates who do not have full-time jobs can be tapped for the work, said Decatur warden Bettinna Carter.  The employer must have proof of homeowner’s insurance, a driver’s license, and provide transportation for the inmate to and from the job.  With an hourly rate of $7 for general work and $10 for skilled work, day labor is a bargain, Carter said.

vericatrajkova Alabama, Work Release

New Federal Prison In AL Moves Ahead

February 17th, 2009
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bop-logoThe construction management contract has been issued by the Federal Bureau of Prisons for the building of a new facility at Aliceville AL, according to a press release from Jacobs Engineering.

Officials did not disclose the contract value, yet estimate the construction value at over $130 million. This design-build project encompasses a total building area of approximately 45,000 square meters with living units and support facilities for a rated capacity of approximately 1100 to 1500 inmates. The facility will be a “campus plan” type of institution consisting of several one- and two-story buildings, a Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR) factory, and three general housing units of four levels each all within a secure compound. A minimum security Federal Prison Camp with living units and support facilities with a capacity of 256 inmates also is included. A central utility building, outside administration building, firing range, and associated parking and roadways will be constructed outside the secure perimeter.

vericatrajkova Alabama, Federal Systems, Prison and Jail Construction

AL Prison Opens Pre-Release Center

February 9th, 2009
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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.

al-limestone-prison

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.”


vericatrajkova Alabama, Inmate Programs, Re-Entry

Huntsville Muni Jail Certified

February 7th, 2009
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The City of Huntsville AL has secured the long-awaited Certificate of Occupancy for the construction-plagued metro jail.

Mayor Tommy Battle confirmed the Inspections Department issued the certificate Wednesday night. The City Inspection Department awarded the CO after an extensive inspection found the jail in working order and capable of being occupied by inmates and jail staff.  The measure doesn’t necessarily mean inmates will immediately be transferred from other county lockups. Battle estimated it may be six to eight weeks before inmates could be moved in …

The $29 million metro jail project swelled to $72 million after structural problems and other work defects led to the ouster of the original general contractor and subcontractors.  Those parties along with the city are embroiled in lawsuits over what went wrong and who’s to blame.

vericatrajkova AL Madison County, Prison and Jail Construction

Alabama Prisons A “Time Bomb”: Officials

February 3rd, 2009
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Officials are describing Alabama’s prison system as a time bomb that could explode at any time.   Gov. Bob Riley and state corrections officers said on Monday that the prison system is bulging at the seams and the overpopulated, understaffed system could be headed toward a dangerous explosion.  “I’m here today to tell you as an officer who works inside a correctional facility each and every day, our prisons are an absolute time bomb waiting to explode,” said Capt. Lloyd Wallace, president of the Alabama Correctional Organization.

The following video is taken from the Montgomery Advertizer:

vericatrajkova Alabama, Overcrowding

Alabama DOC Sells More Land

February 2nd, 2009
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The Alabama Department of Corrections has put its latest portions of land up for sale in an ongoing effort to raise money to fund repairs.

Gov. Bob Riley and Corrections Commissioner Richard Allen announced plans to sell more than 5,000 acres of unproductive properties across the state in 2007.  The system put more than 400 acres from the Limestone Correctional Facility on the market Wednesday.  The largest section is 185 acres with a minimum bid of nearly $5.1 million. The second parcel has 122 acres with a minimum bid of $3.3 million and the third has 120 acres for the same price.  Corrections has sold more than 3,800 acres at the Farquhar State Cattle Ranch and its old Montgomery headquarters so far.

vericatrajkova Alabama, Economic Issues

American Indians, Hair and Prison

January 27th, 2009
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alabama-docMale American Indians incarcerated in Alabama’s prisons want the right to grow their hair long according to their tribal religious customs.

It will be up to U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles S. Coody to decide whether they have it.   The decision will be the most recent ruling in a legal battle that American Indians have been waging with the state Department of Corrections for the past 15 years.  The Indian inmates contend they should be able to practice their religious beliefs in the same manner as inmates of other religious persuasions. They believe the practice of their beliefs has been stifled by the department’s policy of requiring all male inmates to keep their hair short. Testimony on the grooming policy ended Friday, and the case has been turned over to Coody for consideration. A ruling is expected soon.

Alabama is one of 12 mostly Southern states that prohibit inmates from wearing long hair while incarcerated. The rest of the United States and the District of Columbia either permit inmates to grow their hair long for religious reasons or have no rule against it, according to a survey that has been admitted as evidence in the case. Of the 25,303 inmates in state prisons, 195 are Native American …

According to a pretrial order, the state’s main argument against the practice is that long hair poses a threat to “prison security, safety, health and hygiene … and public safety.”  Keeping male inmates hair short also aids in identifying inmates, particularly in escape situations. It also helps prevent hiding contraband, stops inmates from grabbing hair during fights, and keeps it from getting caught in machinery or doors, according to the order. The plaintiffs dispute these justifications in their lawsuit.

vericatrajkova Alabama, Alabama DOC, American Indians