Alabama faces demands to fix prison system

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WCBI) – More demands were made Wednesday for state lawmakers to fix Alabama’s prisons after the federal government recently delivered a scathing report on the system’s current state.

The Southern Poverty Law Center said it sent a letter to Gov. Kay Ivey and the Dept. of Corrections with its own plan to improve prison safety.

SPLC officials spoke in front of the U.S. District courthouse in Montgomery Wednesday.

They said incarcerated people are facing human rights violations, like violence, assault, and inadequate healthcare.

They are laying out three components they believe are necessary for improving those conditions starting with building new prisons, hiring more staff members and paying them more, and reducing the number of people in prisons.

The Dept of Justice said if conditions don’t improve within the next two months, the DOJ could file a lawsuit against the state