The proposal would tap up to $400 million from the state’s share of American Rescue Plan funds to help pay for the construction. “It's the right thing to do," Republican Sen. Greg Albritton said of the construction plan. The prisons are falling in.”But critics of the plan say the state’s prison problems go beyond building conditions — and urged the state to look to more sweeping sentencing reforms. They also argued that the state should not be using pandemic relief dollars to build prisons. Sandy Ray, the mother of an inmate killed in a state prison in 2019, came to the Statehouse Monday and showed lawmakers a photo of her son's battered face following an altercation with guards.

Source: ABC News September 27, 2021 18:45 UTC