prisons

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY — Counties across Alabama currently pay nearly all medical costs for Medicaid-eligible inmates in their county jails who lose their health coverage once they’re arrested. A proposal in the Senate would change that. After being arrested and going to jail for just a day, anyone who has Medicaid … Continued

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY — The Senate version of the bill authorizing the Alabama Prison Transformation Initiative will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 1, the bill’s sponsor said Thursday. The plan would authorize the Department of Corrections to issue an $800 million bond to construct three new 4,000-bed men’s … Continued

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY — Twenty gifts cards will be given away today to Alabama lawmakers as an incentive for them to attend a breakfast to discuss the Alabama Prison Transformation Initiative, Gov. Robert Bentley’s $800 million prison bond construction initiative. The 20 gift cards are to local restaurants and are valued … Continued

By Brandon Moseley Alabama Political Reporter On Tuesday, February 7, 2017, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley delivered his annual State of the State speech. Gov. Bentley made his pitch for borrowing $800 million to build four new prisons the focus of his speech which lasted just over one hour. The Governor compared himself to an Olympic … Continued

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY — The Southern Poverty Law Center, a Montgomery-based civil rights legal organization, doesn’t believe Gov. Robert Bentley’s plan to build four new prisons to replace Alabama’s aging corrections infrastructure solves the State’s underlying problems. Bentley and Corrections Commissioner Jefferson Dunn plan to push for the Prison Transformation Initiative again during … Continued

By Brandon Moseley Alabama Political Reporter 2016 is over, and 2017 is here. 2016 was a year full of big political news, and we at The Alabama Political Reporter anticipate 2017 to be no less intense. The election of Donald Trump (R) as President of the United States was the biggest national news story of … Continued

By Brandon Moseley Alabama Political Reporter 2016 gave us President-elect Donald Trump, Governor Robert Bentley’s sex scandal, a failed state lottery plan, and Speaker Mike Hubbard being convicted of felony ethics violations. What will 2017 bring? On Sunday, January 1, 2017, State Auditor Jim Zeigler (R) released predictions for what the new year might bring … Continued

By Brandon Moseley Alabama Political Reporter On Monday, December 19, 2016 Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) told the ‘Montgomery Advertiser’s Bryan Lyman that he was considering having a special session within the 2017 regular session to force the legislature to consider his controversial plan to build new prisons on credit. Gov. Bentley told Lyman, “That … Continued

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter A federal judge ruled Friday that a lawsuit filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center against the Alabama Department of Corrections can move forward as a class-action lawsuit. US District Judge Myron Thompson ruled that the case, which alleges that Alabama prisoners have been denied mental health care, can … Continued