It is the highest number of preventable deaths in our state’s history, and almost no one is talking about it.

In 2023 alone, 335 people died inside Alabama prisons.

That is nearly one death every single day. These aren't just statistics—they are sons, fathers, and brothers. They are dying from homicide, overdose, and suicide in a system that has collapsed into chaos.

This is not justice. This is a crisis.

When we lock people up in the most violent prisons in America, we aren't "correcting" anything. We are creating trauma. We are breeding addiction (over 80% of inmates suffer from untreated substance abuse). And we are making our communities less safe by releasing people who are more damaged than when they went in.

We Don’t Have to Accept This. We believe in a better way. A "Smart Justice" model that protects victims and rehabilitates offenders.

Our Alabama Prison Reform Proposal introduces a 4-Phase System inspired by the best practices of Norway but built for Alabama values:

Phase 1: REVIVE – Stabilization, addiction treatment, and safety.

Phase 2: REBUILD – Education, therapy, and cognitive behavioral change.

Phase 3: RENEW – Skilled trades and living-wage work.

Phase 4: REINFORCE – Re-entry preparation and mentorship.

We are fighting for a system where accountability means opportunity. Where we stop wasting taxpayer money on failure and start investing in human potential.

This is the Alabama Solution.

In June 2002, Brian Mitchell held Elizabeth Smart at knife point in her home in Salt Lake City,Utah. Mary Katherine, her sister was also in the bedroom but pretended to be sleeping and later alerted the parents a couple hours later when Mitchell left the household. Next, he took her to woods outside Salt Lake where he then performed a fake ceremony to marry him and Elizabeth. He then proceeded to rape her and keep her from escaping by chaining her to a tree and had to take on a whole new name: Esther. The cruelty does not end there he continued to rape her,feed her garbage, make her drink alcohol and threatened to kill her many times a day. In addition, they relocated to San Diego and many counties around the area throughout her kidnapping. The weirdest part of this case to me is that Elizabeth was in public many times with her perpetrator and people failed to recognize her despite her being in the media. Not long after, Smart’s sister realized the perpetrator was someone who had worked on there roof once for the family and went by Emmanuel. Smart and Mitchell were discovered not long after by two woman in Utah on March 12,2003 and Mitchell was arrested. Elizabeth then proceeded to speak about her experience and even wrote books on her experience. She also was the lead in bringing victims together to help Jayme Closs and do a Lifetime documentary on her case called,Smart Justice: The Jayme Closs Case. She did this to help Jayme by letting her know she is not alone and bringing awareness to victims. Elizabeth is very bold and inspiring I recommend everyone to watch the Documentary. 

Sources: 

News, ABC. “Elizabeth Smart Brings Together Group of Abduction Survivors.” YouTube, YouTube, 27 Apr. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KBpnQcY5tI.

“Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 May 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Elizabeth_Smart.

“Smart Elizabeth.” Tumblr, Unypl, www.tumblr.com/tagged/smart-elizabeth.

“Watch Smart Justice: The Jayme Closs Case.” Lifetime, www.mylifetime.com/specials/smart-justice-the-jayme-closs-case/full-special.

Sarner, Lauren, and Lauren Sarner. “Elizabeth Smart: I Didn't Want My Jayme Closs Lifetime Special to Be 'Exploitative'.” New York Post, New York Post, 26 Apr. 2019, nypost.com/2019/04/26/elizabeth-smart-i-didnt-want-my-jayme-closs-lifetime-special-to-be-exploitative/.