Report: 16% of bills in 2023 Alabama legislative session could worsen prison overcrowding

A report released Wednesday criticized Alabama lawmakers for focusing criminal justice efforts on enforcement and incarceration instead of rehabilitation and release during the 2023 session of the Alabama Legislature.

The 2023 Statehouse to Prison Pipeline Report, released by the ACLU of Alabama, estimated that 141 of the 876 bills introduced during the session (16%) could potentially increase the number of inmates in Alabama prisons, already facing lawsuits due to overcrowding.

“I think what we have seen with this past legislative session is a continuation of prior years where our legislators are focused on punishment as a solution to the social problems we have in the state,” said Alison Mollman, legal director at the ACLU of Alabama.

The report noted bills introduced during the session that increased criminal penalties for loitering on the public rights-of-way; reduced the amount of credits that people in prison could receive for good behavior and enhanced penalties for those who commit crimes while part of a criminal enterprise.

The bills that criminalized loitering and reduced credits for inmates to shorten the time they spent incarcerated both passed the Legislature.

Legislators also sponsored bills to create criminal penalties for assisting people with their absentee ballots.

This is the third year at the ACLU of Alabama reviewed the bills to compile its statehouse to prison pipeline report. In 2021, the ACLU estimated legislators introduced almost 1,100 bills during the session, with 117 (10.6%) potentially increasing the number of people incarcerated in the state.

Legislators introduced 873 bills in 2022, with 148 of those (17%) increasing the prison pipeline.

Researchers outlined a set of criteria to evaluate the bills considered during the legislative session through a series of yes or no questions. They flagged legislation that increased penalties for actions or behaviors or expanded the authority of law enforcement. Investigators also counted those they believed targeted people who are economically vulnerable, such as low-income populations or those who are on precarious financial footing.

Among the most notable bills is the criminal enterprise bill, SB 143, sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road and Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, chair of the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee.

The legislation established harsher penalties for those who committed a crime who are part of a criminal enterprise. It elevated Class C felonies, normally punishable by one to 10 years in prison, to Class B felonies, which carry a sentence of two to 20 years, if a felony was committed by a member of a criminal enterprise. If the original offense is a Class A felony, punishable by 10-99 years in prison, a conviction carries a minimum 25-year sentence.

Many law enforcement officials supported the bill, believing the harsher penalties would act as a deterrent.

“I sat in on it, and I think it is something that is a need,” said Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham. “Any kind of legislation we got that can curb group violence upon the citizens here in Alabama, we need any kind of help that we can get to deter those who think it is alright to carry out violence being part of a group.”

Cunningham said he did not know how effective it would be.

“I guess I am waiting until the first case goes through the system,” he said. “To see what kind of punishment will rain down on them. Right now, I can’t really gauge it because I haven’t seen it being utilized yet.”

Mollman expressed concerns over language in the bill that would set out criteria to identify members of criminal enterprises. Individuals must meet three of the 10 categories to be considered a member of a gang. Flashing specific signs or having a particular tattoo can label someone as a gang member, as can spending time or being seen with someone who is a known gang member.

“When we are attaching extra sentences and consequences to people based on how they dress, based on hand signs they use or who their friends are or who they spend time with, we are putting a lot of arbitrary power in the hands of prosecutors and our criminal legal system,” she said.

The Legislature also passed SB1, sponsored by Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, in response to the death of Bibb County Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Johnson. Johnson was shot and killed while pursuing a motor vehicle last June.

Inmates are divided into categories to determine how much good time credits they can earn. Inmates do not automatically earn good time and must work their way up through the tiers through good conduct.

Prior to the bill, an inmate in the highest class could get 75 days off their sentence for every 30 days served. People who are in the Class II category may earn 40 days for every 30 days served, while those in Class III can earn 20 days.

Weaver’s legislation reduced that incentive, allowing a person in the first tier 30 days for every 30 days served; 15 days for 30 days served in the second tier, and 5 days for 30 days served in the third tier.

Austin Patrick Hall, indicted on four counts of murder and attempted murder in the shooting, has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental defect. Hall had been released early from DOC custody for a previous conviction, despite a previous escape attempt that should have wiped out his good time credits. It is not clear why DOC did not remove them.

The Legislature also came close to passing HB 209, sponsored by Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville that would have provided criminal penalties for people who assist others with their absentee ballots.

Kiel had wanted to charge people with a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, who fill out or deliver an absentee ballot to another person. People could be charged with a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for accepting money to complete a ballot, and a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, for paying someone to fill out a ballot.

The bill was passed out the Senate State Governmental Affairs Committee but reduced the penalty to a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, for helping someone complete an absentee ballot. That bill did not pass the Legislature, but an updated version has been prefiled for 2024 session, scheduled to begin in February.

HB 24, sponsored by Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road, makes a second or subsequent arrest for loitering on a public right-of-way a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to three months in jail and a $500 fine.

Bills that Mollman and others at the ACLU of Alabama supported failed to get any traction. Neither HB 16, which would have established guidelines for the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles to follow, nor House Bill 14, which would have required unanimous jury verdicts, both sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, made it out of committee.

The net effect of these bills, according to Mollman, exacerbates the overcrowding within Alabama’s prisons. According to the Alabama Department of Corrections, the state prisons in September had 20,361 people in a system designed for 12,115, a capacity of 168%.

The overcrowding has been cited as a major contributor to violence in state prisons. The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the state over the conditions in the prisons.

“We have a prison system that is on fire,” Mollman said. “And we have a Legislature that continues to shut down the exits and block down the doors.”

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, an independent nonprofit website covering politics and policy in state capitals around the nation.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Report: Alabama bills could worsen prison overcrowding