Alabama has the worst prisons in the nation. Governor Ivey wants to build more of them. We are Alabamians determined not to let that happen.
The U.S. Department of Justice declared that Alabama’s entire prison system for men unconstitutional. Twice. Since 2019. Because Alabama has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the nation, our prisons are desperately overcrowded. But rather than responding to this crisis by reducing the number of people in prison (as many other states already have), Governor Kay Ivey is trying to build three new mega prisons and double down on the catastrophic failures of mass incarceration for decades to come.
We know this is neither the future that Alabamians want or deserve. It is not a serious response to the issues of corruption, overcrowding, understaffing, and violence that have been brewed in Alabama’s prisons by years of bad laws and mismanagement. We reject this multi-billion dollar plan to have private prison companies set up shop in our communities, and we will do everything we can to stop it.
ABOUT US
Communities Not Prisons is a coalition of people, communities, and organizations committed to stopping the ill-conceived construction of prisons being forced upon Bibb, Elmore, and Escambia counties. This is a local fight with statewide and national implications. Communities Not Prisons is a local, Alabama-led effort, and we are joined by equally determined regional and national partners who recognize that the consequences of this prison construction plan will extend far beyond the county line.
OUR CAMPAIGN
We oppose the proposed construction of three new prisons in Bibb, Elmore, and Escambia counties because we recognize the plain truth: these prisons do not serve our communities, and they will have catastrophic consequences for our families, our neighbors, our environment, and the health of our state. We object to the mistreatment and abuse of people in Alabama’s appalling, unconstitutional, deadly prisons, and we refuse to accept the expansion of this racist prison system.
Our work is led by people directly impacted by these plans: people who have been incarcerated, family members of people who have been incarcerated, and residents of the small communities where these massive prisons are intended to be built. We are mobilizing entire communities to stand up against this terrible, secretive plan to build giant new prisons in Alabama. We are committed to envisioning better futures for our state.
We’re glad you’re here. There are many ways for you to get involved, and we hope you’ll join us.