"The Alabama Solution" Documentary On Alabama Prison System

Today I was at the Montgomery screening of the documentary about the prison system in Alabama. We have to do something to fix this mess! If you haven't watched it, then you can stream it on HBO Max. It is eye-opening and shocking to watch. I always knew things were bad in Alabama Department of Corrections, but I had no idea the prison conditions are that bad!

The corrections officers are smuggling in contraband to the incarcerated, and they are earning thousands a day by selling them drugs and cellphones. The federal drug recovery program is being ran by one of the prisoners instead of having a certified counselor, so addiction runs throughout our prisons. Those that go into the system clean come out as drug addicts. Drug overdoses happen constantly, but they don't have access to Narcan or other medical supplies to treat them. There also needs to be mandatory autopsies for everyone who dies while in custody.

The 13th Amendment ends slavery for everyone except prisoners. We need to amend our Constitution to close that loophole. Alabama (and I'm sure other states) are leasing out the prisoners and using them for labor. Those that do get paid only earn between 25 cents and $2 per day of work. They even lease the people out to local businesses as labor. This is just institutionalized slavery and exploitation. It must end!

The parole board has a terrible record of not ever letting people out, so we need new members on that board. There are currently around 21,000 people incarcerated in Alabama. Instead of fixing the current broken system, Governor Kay Ivey's plan is to build more billion dollar mega-prisons, and she's taking the money from the education budget. Our politicians own stock in the private prison companies like CoreCivic, Geo Group, Management and Training Corporation (MTC), and LaSalle Corrections, so they make money each time a new person goes to prison. We need to have everyone divest from those stocks and end that practice of politicians that is a conflict of interest.

In April 2019, the US Department of Justice issue a damning report on the unconstitutional conditions in Alabama prisons, but nothing was ever done about it. "The Alabama Solution" to the problem (according to our governor) is to just build new prisons. We need DOJ to actually do something to correct the problem with federal oversight despite the stiff resistance from the state.

We also need to form an Independent Oversight Commission like some other states have done. Right now, the system investigates itself, so nothing is ever done. We need citizens to have the ability to inspect and report on the conditions without fear of retribution.

It goes without saying, we need to end the death penalty. We can't trust our state with the ability to inflict the ultimate punishment on people. We have put to death (murdered) too many people who were later exonerated through DNA and other evidence. 

I hope all of you are able to see the film, and help me come up with more ideas on how to urgently fix this systemic injustice. Elections are important, especially local elections. Vote! ✊