May 25, 2013
The Alabama House passed a bill Friday to give Alabama prisons $4.55 million in emergency funding to deal with two different court orders.
Montgomery Rep. John Knight said the money would be used to comply with a federal court order to reduce overcrowding at Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka. The money will also be used to comply with an order from a state judge to reduce the number of state inmates in county jails.
Prison Commissioner Donal Campbell said he plans to reduce the inmates at Tutwiler by June 30, partly by sending some inmates to private prisons in Louisiana. The bill said prisoners should only be sent out of state as a final option.
An identical bill has passed the Senate. One of the two bills will have to pass the other chamber to become law.
