danielle
09-08-2002, 06:14 AM
Governor says he neglected state prison problem
Gov. Don Siegelman admitted this week he should have paid more attention to Alabama’s jail and prison crowding problem earlier in his administration.
The state’s prisons are full and there is a backlog of more than 1,000 state prisoners in county jails more than 30 days after sentencing.
Siegelman met with the Montgomery Advertiser editorial board this week to ask for the newspaper’s endorsement.
Siegelman faces U.S. Rep. Bob Riley of Ashland, a Republican, and economics instructor John Sophocleus, a Libertarian, in the Nov. 5 election.
Siegelman said he has focused his attention on other issues, chiefly jobs and education. County governments have a pending lawsuit against the state for its failure to accept inmates from county jails. Montgomery County Circuit Judge William Shashy, who is presiding over the case, has fined the state and indicated he might put prison commissioner Mike Haley behind bars for failing to relieve the backlog in county jails.
Siegelman said Haley has done a good job. He also thanked Shashy for focusing attention on the problem.
“It just took Judge Shashy’s order to get everybody together,” the governor said. “Should I have paid more attention to it earlier? Absolutely.”
Siegelman said the state should expand community corrections programs, drug courts and work camps in efforts to divert offenders from prison time.
The governor has said he does not want to build more prisons. But he said the state probably does need to replace Julia Tutwiler Prison in Elmore County, the state’s only prison for woman.
Mainly, the governor likes to emphasize the fact that there are 4,000 more people behind bars than when he took office.
Riley has said Siegelman failed to handle the problem. Riley proposes sending prisoners to other states in the short term and building more prison space in the long term.
Gov. Don Siegelman admitted this week he should have paid more attention to Alabama’s jail and prison crowding problem earlier in his administration.
The state’s prisons are full and there is a backlog of more than 1,000 state prisoners in county jails more than 30 days after sentencing.
Siegelman met with the Montgomery Advertiser editorial board this week to ask for the newspaper’s endorsement.
Siegelman faces U.S. Rep. Bob Riley of Ashland, a Republican, and economics instructor John Sophocleus, a Libertarian, in the Nov. 5 election.
Siegelman said he has focused his attention on other issues, chiefly jobs and education. County governments have a pending lawsuit against the state for its failure to accept inmates from county jails. Montgomery County Circuit Judge William Shashy, who is presiding over the case, has fined the state and indicated he might put prison commissioner Mike Haley behind bars for failing to relieve the backlog in county jails.
Siegelman said Haley has done a good job. He also thanked Shashy for focusing attention on the problem.
“It just took Judge Shashy’s order to get everybody together,” the governor said. “Should I have paid more attention to it earlier? Absolutely.”
Siegelman said the state should expand community corrections programs, drug courts and work camps in efforts to divert offenders from prison time.
The governor has said he does not want to build more prisons. But he said the state probably does need to replace Julia Tutwiler Prison in Elmore County, the state’s only prison for woman.
Mainly, the governor likes to emphasize the fact that there are 4,000 more people behind bars than when he took office.
Riley has said Siegelman failed to handle the problem. Riley proposes sending prisoners to other states in the short term and building more prison space in the long term.