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Alabama prisoners planning new work strike in 2026

With scrutiny of Alabama prisons at a high point, prisoners are planning a new work strike to demand change.

Dramatic clouds behind barbed wire fence on a prison wall
STOCK

The critically acclaimed HBO documentary “The Alabama Solution” released earlier this year revealed the conditions in Alabama prisons while following the men who started a work strike movement in 2024.

That same group announced Thursday that they are planning another work strike in the months ahead to keep a spotlight on the conditions inside the prisons now that the documentary has brought new awareness to the issue.

The Free Alabama Movement said Thursday that they intend to begin a work strike across all Alabama prisons beginning February 8, 2026.

“This nonviolent action comes in response to decades of unconstitutional sentencing practices, forced prison labor, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis throughout Alabama’s prison system,” FAM leaders said in a statement. “With the release of the documentary ‘The Alabama Solution,’ state officials can no longer deny or ignore the overwhelming evidence that Alabama’s prison system is in catastrophic failure and requires immediate, sweeping reform. The documentary exposes systemic corruption, violence, and deliberate neglect that incarcerated people have endured for generations. The truth is no longer hidden behind prison walls — it is publicly available, undeniable, and morally urgent. 

“Despite federal investigations, DOJ findings, and repeated warnings, the State of Alabama has failed to enact meaningful change. Therefore, incarcerated people across the state are exercising their lawful right to peaceful protest through a statewide shutdown and work stoppage.”

The 2024 work strike paralyzed Alabama’s prisons, which rely heavily on the  operation of incarcerated men to provide essential services. The documentary, alongside contemporary reports at the time, showed prisoners receiving increasingly meager meals. The administration claimed it was doing the best it could to work around the stoppage; incarcerated individuals said it was a deliberate attempt to starve out the strike.

The limited food and deteriorating conditions ultimately chipped away at the strike, and it ended without any of the group’s demands being met. The group has once again issued demands to stop the upcoming work strike.

The demands are listed below verbatim.

1. Repeal Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act (HFOA)

Abolish the outdated and excessively punitive enhancement statute that has produced life and virtual-life sentences far beyond any rehabilitative purpose and out of step with modern standards of justice.

2. Make the Presumptive Sentencing Guidelines Retroactive
 
Apply current presumptive sentencing standards to all eligible prior convictions so that people sentenced under older, harsher laws can receive the same fair and consistent treatment as those sentenced today.

3. Make HJR 575 Retroactive (Drive-By Shooting Statute Reform)
 
Apply the legislative clarification of Alabama’s drive-by shooting statute retroactively so that individuals who were improperly charged or enhanced under the statute can receive review and relief.

4. First-Time Offender / Capital Murder Reform Bill
 
Create revised sentencing options for first-time offenders and end Juvenile Life Without Parole by providing parole eligibility after 20 years, recognizing the capacity for growth, change, and rehabilitation.

5. Parole Board Reform and Clear, Objective Criteria
 
Mandate transparent written standards, meaningful hearings, and review procedures that ensure fair, non-arbitrary parole decisions for every eligible incarcerated person.

6. Medical Furlough & Compassionate Release Expansion
 
Expand and enforce mechanisms for the release of elderly, terminally ill, severely disabled, and medically fragile individuals so they can receive appropriate care in the community instead of dying in prison.
 
7. Establish a Statewide Conviction Review Unit
 
Create an independent conviction review body with the authority and resources to investigate wrongful convictions, excessive sentences, and cases involving prosecutorial or judicial misconduct.
8. Abolish Forced Prison Labor
 
End uncompensated and coerced prison labor by guaranteeing fair wages, voluntary participation, safe working conditions, and basic labor protections for incarcerated workers.

9. Strengthening Families Act (Including Conjugal Visits)
 
Implement policies that protect and strengthen family bonds, including conjugal and overnight family visits, expanded contact visitation, increased access to phone and video communication, and parenting and family-support programs.

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