Alabama is using COVID money to build prisons — and the governor is justifying it by attacking the government. Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) is dismissing criticisms of her new plan to use COVID relief funds to pay for more prisons. Alabama has an incarceration rate of 938 per 100,000 people, reported the Prison Policy Project. It far surpasses the U.S. average with rates dramatically increasing over the last 40 years. The overwhelming number of people incarcerated in Alabama are Black or Hispanic.


Be First to Read
Our Latest Blogs

September 28, 2021September 28, 2021
Costs of Prison Phone Calls Throwing Some Families Into Debt
Costs of prison phone calls are throwing some families into debt. Many of us have felt the isolation the COVID-19 pandemic has brought into our lives, but few have felt that isolation more than people in prison. But even more pressing is the cost of those calls that have plagued inmates and their friends and families for years.
September 21, 2021September 21, 2021
There Are Fewer People Behind Bars Now Than 10 Years Ago. Will It Last?
There Are Fewer People Behind Bars Now Than 10 Years Ago. Will It Last? Census data show incarceration rates are down. It may have more to do with the pandemic than broad reforms. Nearly two million adults were incarcerated across the country, according to the 2020 Decennial Census. The latest figures show a 13% drop in the total number of incarcerated people, or nearly 300,000 fewer people, compared with the 2010 Census.
September 16, 2021September 16, 2021
CMC Scholarship for Students Pursuing a Future in Medicine!
In keeping with the tradition of giving back to the community, we will award multiple scholarships to local high school and junior college students with a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in any medical field...
September 13, 2021September 13, 2021
Prison Contractor That Charges Inmates Sky-High Phone Fees Proposes Virtual Reality Visitation
U.S. prisons have been reducing or replacing free in-person visitation in favor of costly remote visitation for years. Recently, a prison contractor that charges inmates sky-high phone fees proposed virtual reality visitation...
September 7, 2021September 7, 2021
Prisons Are Increasingly Banning Physical Mail
For incarcerated people, handwritten letters can be a lifeline—but prisons and jails are restricting them. Prisons are increasingly banning physical mail. These may seem like small things, but anyone with a personal connection to the prison system knows they’re not...
August 31, 2021August 31, 2021
New Startup Aims to Create Meaningful Employment After Incarceration
Formerly incarcerated job seekers face not only a stigma, but also a five-times-higher unemployment rate. A new startup aims to create meaningful employment after incarceration...
August 26, 2021August 26, 2021
Prisoner’s Mental Health
One out of every three people behind bars is being held in a local jail, yet jails get almost none of the attention that prisons do. Jails are ostensibly locally controlled, but the people held there are generally accused of violating state law, and all too often state policymakers (and state reform advocates) ignore.....
August 19, 2021August 26, 2021
Prison Industrial Complex
Two hundred years ago, American jails were commonly used to house seriously mentally ill citizens. The inhumanity of that system led advocates in the 1800s to undertake reforms in the care of the mentally ill. Modern mental hospitals run by State governments evolved in mid-20th century America with the promise of.....
August 12, 2021August 26, 2021
Prison Reform
Although experiences of trauma that occur prior to or during incarceration are relatively well explored among justice-involved individuals, little is known about the traumatic events individuals experience after leaving incarceration and returning home. This report responds to this gap in the research. We suspect that trauma experienced during reentry complicates.....
August 5, 2021August 26, 2021
Mental Health Care System In The United States
The mental health care system in the United States is severely under-resourced, and America’s jails are bearing the brunt of the crisis. An estimated 43.8 million adults experience mental illness in a given year, and nearly 1 in 25 adults—or about 10 million people—live with a serious mental illness. Yet nearly 60%.....
July 29, 2021August 26, 2021
Prison Life During COVID-19
The crime victim rights movement and mass incarceration grew side-by-side in the United States, and in many ways they deal with similar questions about the purposes, benefits, and effectiveness of the criminal justice system. The COVID-19 worldwide pandemic in 2020 tested the value attributed to.....

Scholarship for Students Pursuing a Future in Medicine
The Umar and Correctional Medical Care Future Health Leaders of America Scholarship was created in 2013 to support students and aid them in unlocking their full potential.
The Umar and Correctional Medical Care Future Health Leaders of America Scholarship is a monetary award for local area high school and junior college students who are or will be pursuing a degree in a medical field.
In keeping with the tradition of giving back to the community, we will award multiple scholarships to local high school and junior college students with a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in any medical field.