It’s no secret that Alabama’s prisons are overcrowded, violent and inhumane. Any meaningful solution to this crisis must address two major challenges. First, it must alleviate the abysmal conditions inside Alabama’s prisons. Second, it must help people who are at risk of incarceration or re-incarceration become productive members of their communities. Click here to read my blog post explaining how Medicaid expansion would help put Alabama’s corrections system on a path toward dignity, equity and justice for all. This is the message I plan to deliver today when I join other advocates in presenting recommendations to Gov. Kay Ivey’s Study Group on Criminal Justice Policy. The study group is meeting to hear proposals from community groups, including members of the Alabamians for Fair Justice Coalition. Among our coalition’s recommendations are an expansion in state investments in mental health care and treatment for substance use disorders. We also urge increased state support for mental health courts, pretrial diversion and reentry programs. These investments would reduce recidivism. They would prevent many people from entering the criminal justice system in the first place. And they would help more Alabamians build better lives and reach their full potential. | |
