Alabama Prison Reform Proposal

• ADOC houses 21,125 people in facilities designed for 12,115 beds — about 174.4% of design capacity (June 2026).
• Jurisdictional population grew by 1,048 people from June 2025 to June 2026, reaching 29,071.
• Through June 2026 in FY2026: 7,655 admissions vs. 7,120 releases — an admissions-minus-releases balance of 535, with probation revocations and parole re-admissions making up 33.6% of admissions.

Why it matters: Overcrowding drives violence, worsens medical and mental health conditions, strains staff, and increases taxpayer costs.

• Deaths in custody demand prevention, independent investigation and timely public reporting.
• ACLU Alabama reported 277 deaths in 2024. Separately, ADOC opened 43 death investigations in FY2026 Q2 (January–March 2026) and closed 53, including earlier cases. Investigation openings and closures are not same-period death totals.
• ADOC staffing totals document workforce constraints. Statewide payroll counts do not establish the number of officers on a particular shift or the officer-to-resident ratio in a dorm.

Why it matters: Unsafe conditions threaten incarcerated people, correctional officers, and Alabama communities.

• Historic shortages of correctional officers across major facilities, though ADOC added a net 272 security officers in FY2025.
• ADOC lost 391 officers to attrition in FY2025 — more than one departure for every two hires — amid unsafe working conditions and burnout.
• Rising state spending is heavily tied to staffing incentives, overtime, and crisis response.

Why it matters: A functional prison system requires adequate staffing, training, and safe working environments.

• Alabama’s FY2027 enacted General Fund comparison reports an ADOC General Fund appropriation of $826,704,722 and a $956,375,668 total appropriation when other state, miscellaneous, and federal funding is included.
• These figures describe FY2026 appropriations; they should not be presented interchangeably with construction costs, legal expenses, multiyear spending, or actual expenditures.

Why it matters: Alabama’s substantial correctional investment makes transparent cost definitions and measurable safety, staffing, treatment, and reentry outcomes essential.

As of September 29, 2026, United States v. Alabama, No. 2:20-cv-01971-HDM, remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. A bench trial is scheduled for November 30, 2026, following a pretrial conference scheduled for October 30, 2026.

In September 2026, both the United States and Alabama/ADOC filed competing motions for summary judgment. DOJ argues that unconstitutional conditions persist; Alabama disputes deliberate indifference and cites staffing, recruitment, training, classification, and policy changes. These are party positions, not court findings. The court has not resolved the motions. The November 30 bench trial and October 30 pretrial conference remain scheduled unless changed by further court order.

Why it matters: The competing summary-judgment filings frame the parties’ current positions, but the court has not yet resolved the constitutional claims.