DOOMED TO REPEAT: THOUSANDS STUCK IN ALABAMA'S PRISON SYSTEM

For many convicted criminals in Alabama there is nothing correctional
about the state's correctional facilities. With the overall rate of
recidivism at 37 percent, and many prisons operating at 400 percent of
their design capacity, the system is failing, said Cynthia Dillard,
assistant director of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles.

In the past 10 years, Alabama's prison population has increased from
about 18,000 to more than 28,000, according to a report by the board.

"Nobody said it was working," Dillard said. "We spend less per inmate
than any state in the nation. What we're doing is not ideal."

Dillard's sentiments are echoed throughout the law enforcement
community.

Talladega County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Jimmy Kilgore said
that inmates trying to re-enter society face tough odds when it comes
to staying out of jail.

"We are essentially manning the revolving door, so to speak," Kilgore
said.

"I think when they get out, they're really not prepared to step into
society and assume a productive role because their options are kind of
limited," Kilgore said. "The correctional system - an aspect of that
is rehabilitation. I think we're failing miserably in that area. We
have rehabilitation programs. Are they working? Obviously not."

The Problem

In an essay written by Ronald Fraser of the DKT Liberty Project, a
Washington-based civil liberties organization, Fraser writes that one
of the biggest problems facing convicted felons in Alabama is laws
prohibiting them from getting help once they get out.

"A felony conviction in Alabama triggers not one, but two kinds of
punishment - one visible, the other hidden," Fraser writes. "First, it
often means a prison term. But once that debt is paid, and just as the
former inmate begins piecing together a shattered life, barriers to
finding a place to live and getting a job kick in."

For example, by law in Alabama, both public and private employers may
turn away a felon solely based on a conviction, persons convicted of
drug-related felonies may not receive food stamps or welfare
assistance and may also be denied public housing.

These laws are in place for a reason, said Capt. David Garrett with
the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department.

"Most of the guidelines on the state and local level are in place to
ensure that tax dollars are used properly," Garrett said. "They are
there to make sure taxpayer dollars aren't supporting someone's habit."

Garrett may have a point.

"In St. Clair County, 90 to 95 percent of burglaries are drug
related," Garrett said. "A lot of it is related to drugs indirectly.
Most of these folks aren't worried about eating."

Dillard said that another major problem facing former inmates,
especially those who have been in prison for several years, is a lack
of support once they get out.

"If you have been in prison a long time, and you get out with no
support, no family, no job - it's nearly impossible to make it,"
Dillard said. "I don't know how they do it."

Beyond that, Dillard said that many former inmates and parolees have
physical, mental and emotional problems that, without assistance of
some kind, hinder their ability to reintegrate after life in prison.

"Many people who go to prison have multiple problems," Dillard said.
"Many people are handicapped already in trying to find a job. They
have health problems. They have mental problems. They have so many
problems it's overwhelming."

Although Dillard said there are programs in place to assist inmates
with drug rehabilitation, the system is so overwhelmed that many
prisoners are paroled before they can get the treatment they need.

"We're just mass releasing people so the federal government doesn't
come in and do it," Dillard said. "But at least we're choosing who we
release."

This essentially means that huge numbers of inmates, typically
non-violent drug offenders, are being paroled without treatment of any
kind and without a solid plan to stick to when they get out, Dillard
said.

"The administration really had no choice," she said. "We are under a
federal court order. This is the best option under the terrible
options we had to choose from - the best of the bad options."

Solutions?

In March 2003, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles submitted a
new proposal to the state Legislature to address the massive problem
of dealing with the revolving doors of the state's correctional facilities.

That proposal introduced a concept called transition
centers.

These residential transition centers would be used for everything from
drug rehabilitation to vocational courses to parenting and anger
management classes, Dillard said. The idea is to better prepare
inmates to re-enter society.

Right now, Dillard said, the parole board sends many inmates to
halfway houses, which go largely unregulated.

"Sometimes the board orders release into halfway houses. Some are
great," she said. "Some are breeding grounds for new criminals."

One of the best things about the proposed transition centers is that
the state already has the facilities built to house the inmates, she
said.

"It's what is needed terribly bad in Alabama," Dillard said. "The
thing is, it's far less (costly) than a prison bed. Everybody knows
that it's needed."

The proposal identified four large facilities owned and formerly
operated by the Department of Mental Health that have sat derelict for
years.

"It's a shame to see the facilities wasted," Dillard said. "We've got
those wonderful buildings and not enough prison room."

Dillard said these facilities would be ideal for the types of inmates
the state is being forced to release.

"Those paroled with no job plan could be released to the transition
centers," Dillard said. "Our plan was to have one for females and
several for males around the state."

So far, the parole board has been awarded a $2 million conditional
appropriation to start the project. Dillard added that "conditional
appropriation" means the project can only get off the ground if the
state can find the money, which it hasn't yet.

In the meantime, Kilgore said he expects the problem to get worse. "If
anything, we've seen arrests go up because of the epidemic facing our
society," Kilgore said. "They oftentimes are not prepared to step back
in and function in society. It's tough on them mentally and it's tough
on them emotionally."

Garrett added that many of the people caught in the trap of the
state's correctional system are not criminals in the classic sense of
the word.

"A lot of the folks in prison aren't bad people, they've just made bad
decisions," Garrett said. "I'm not sure what the answer is. The best
answer is for more community involvement. Local communities are going
to have to bear some of the responsibility. Unless the state revenue
base increases, there's really nothing more the state can do."