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7.0 magnitude earthquake reported off Northern California coast, tsunami warning canceled; Fewer Hoosiers vote in 2024 amid early voting tensions; 'ALICE at Work' paycheck-to-paycheck struggle; New push for protection for manatees, Florida's 'gentle giants.'

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The Senate Indian Affairs chair says a long-imprisoned activist deserves clemency, Speaker Mike Johnson says they may end funding for PBS and Planned Parenthood, and Senate Republicans privately say Hegseth's nomination is doomed.

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Limited access to community resources negatively impacts rural Americans' health, a successful solar company is the result of a Georgia woman's determination to stay close to her ailing grandfather, and Connecticut looks for more ways to cut methane emissions.

Calling on Congress to reduce state prison populations

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Tuesday, June 4, 2024   

Alabama prisons are considered some of the most crowded in the country, with over 22,000 people housed in facilities designed to hold just 12,000. A new proposal seeks to bring those numbers down - but it would require approval from Congress. It's known as the Public Safety and Prison Reduction Act, and it would pay states to rethink their sentencing policies and reduce their prison populations.

Hernandez Stroud, senior counsel with the Brennan Center for Justice, pointed to state prisons as the core issue in mass incarceration, holding 87% of people incarcerated in the U.S.

"Congress could help states break the cycle of excessive imprisonment, and its devastating impact on families and communities by offering funding as an incentive to both shrink state prison populations and implement humane alternatives," he said.

Alabama locks up a higher percentage of people than the national average, with about 90,000 booked into local jails each year.

One concern in corrections systems is the growing population of older prisoners who are often medically fragile and require more expensive care. Alabama has seen a drastic increase in the number of people over 50 serving time, now at more than 6,700. Stroud said the Brennan Center proposal could help states make changes that could reduce this population.

"A lot of states have on the books compassionate release, geriatric release, and other release mechanisms like that. But we have found that a lot of them don't have the infrastructure or financing to really make these processes work in a robust and efficient way. And that's another way that states could use the money," he continued.

The Public Safety and Prison Reduction Act has yet to be introduced in Congress. Its $1 billion estimated price tag may be among the reasons. A similar proposal, the "Smart Sentencing Adjustments Act," was introduced last year, but hasn't made progress.


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