Alabama’s prison system is broken. Our state has invested in punishment – extreme sentences, brutal conditions of confinement, and institutional violence. But we have failed to invest in rehabilitation, drug treatment, re-entry services, and the kinds of crime prevention and community support that would keep all Alabamians safer.
Poverty is not a crime. But in Alabama, people who lack access to wealth rarely experience equal justice under law. The causes of Alabama poverty are complex and include historical factors. But present-day choices worsen and further entrench poverty in Alabama, diverting people away from the workforce and into an endless spiral of punishment.
Alabama is one of the poorest states in the nation. We have one of the highest rates of African Americans per capita. We also have one of America’s highest rates of incarceration. These facts are not unrelated. For its entire 201-year history, Alabama has prioritized maintaining white supremacy over our well-being as a state.
People should know more about their government than the government knows about its people. Yet weak open records and open meetings laws, the lack of transparency around law enforcement interactions with the community, and the pursuit of profit over the fair administration of justice in government systems have undermined this basic principle of democracy.
Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice
400 South Union Street, Suite 245
Montgomery, Alabama 36104
2 Office Park Circle, Suite 10
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: (205) 963-7999
admin@alabamaappleseed.org