Dozens advocate for Alabama prison reform at public hearing

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — A variety of issues were brought before lawmakers Wednesday at a Joint Prison Oversight Committee hearing in Montgomery.

Advocates are calling for reforms inside and outside the prison system. Dozens testified about violence, drug use and conditions in Alabama’s prisons.

Rachel Elledge serves as a volunteer coordinator for the Lovelady Center in Birmingham after serving time in the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women.

“We’ve got to change,” Elledge said. “We’ve got to get some programs that allow these ladies to transition and realize that there’s another way to live than the life that they’re coming out of.”

Yolanda Williams, a 20-year U.S. Army veteran, said her relative is enduring hot and uninhabitable conditions in prison.

“Only thing we judge them off of is the crime,” Williams said. “We’re not judging them off of being human, and they are human. They are serving their time with the mistakes that they made. So today, I just ask everyone to be a voice for those that cannot be a voice for themselves.”

State Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, said improving the parole system will help those conditions.

“Properly assess someone to determine if they’re a threat or not and to utilize all the things that we’ve created with our own state tax dollars to help that transition by giving parole, so the people who don’t need to be there can get out,” England said.

State Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, said they will continue working to curb drug use in prisons.

“Work with DOC to try to prevent it as much as we can,” Chambliss said. “Drones have been a big problem, and we’ve used some intelligence to try and counter that as well.”

Chambliss said they have a long way to go, but he’s pleased with the direction they are going. He said there are plans to replace Tutwiler, which he said is almost 100 years old.