Alabama Progress
It probably will not shock you to learn that conditions in Alabama prisons are extremely bad, but even by jaded standards, they are horrific. Recent efforts in journalism, litigation, and filmmaking are combining to bring unusually high pressure on Alabama’s system to change, or at least to hold fewer people. And it’s working: Alabama’s parole rate rose from 8% to 20% of petitions being granted in 2024, according to data from the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. That comes out to roughly 250 more people getting out of prison this year than in 2023. This is what I’m talking about when I say that there is so much more potential for progress on this issue, even in these more difficult times. This is why we do this work!
The pressure is only going to intensify, as Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman’s new film The Alabama Solution, which premiered at Sundance to glowing reviews, is expected to release this year. The film contains footage shot by incarcerated men on unauthorized cellphones who documented the astonishingly cruel and brutal conditions inside, while also asserting their own humanity and dignity. This film is likely to shock the conscience of even those who favor strong punishment; what’s happening in this movie is not punishment or accountability, but torture. Read an interview with the directors here.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed in December 2023 challenging the compulsory work policies in Alabama DOC, which the complaint alleges is “a form of slavery”, is awaiting a court ruling on the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint. If the judge rules against dismissing the complaint, the plaintiffs will be able to move on to discovery, where they can take depositions and subpoena other evidence. Given the very high caliber of the lawyers on this case, the state should be pretty worried about what they will uncover.
The suit claims that the state parole board intentionally denies parole so that it can make money sending prisoners to work at local businesses, profiting both the state agencies (who get paid) and the businesses (who can get away with paying less). They used to call this ‘convict leasing,’ the post-Civil-War practice that was supposed to have ended many decades ago. [See Slavery By Another Name]. If a person is safe enough to work a normal job at the McDonalds, as revealed in this brilliant and scathing report from the AP in December, they should be safe enough to be released.