By Mike Sherman 
Montgomery Advertiser

Gov. Bob Riley signed his first bill into law Wednesday.

The legislation will give the prison system $4.5 million this budget year for improvements needed to comply with a federal court order to relieve overcrowded conditions at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka. It also includes funds to expand community corrections programs and add prison beds.

Riley backed the measure sponsored by Rep. Hinton Mitchem, D-Albertville, and handled in the House by Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery. It passed both chambers unanimously.

"This bill is not a magic elixir that will cure all that ails the Department of Corrections, but it is good preventative medicine against a fatal crisis occurring within our state prison system," Riley said.

The bill provides $2.7 million that Donal Campbell said would be used to reduce overcrowding at Tutwiler, including moving Alabama inmates to private prisons out of state.

It also provides $975,000 for new and existing community corrections programs, and $900,000 more for additional beds.

Riley said he recently visited Holman and Fountain correctional facilities in Atmore.

"The dormitories were severely overcrowded, and one correctional officer was responsible for keeping control of almost 200 inmates. As many others have said, our prison system truly is a ticking time bomb -- especially considering that it is operating at more than 200 percent capacity," Riley said.

Prison Commissioner Donal Campbell said, "We have about converted all the space we can for living space. We must expedite paroles, and look inside the state for space and then consider out-of-state transfers."

"I'm happy to pass one bill in the Legislature so far," Knight said. "This will not address all the problems, but we will work with the governor's office on the others."

Mitchem called the bill a good first step toward working on massive prison problems.

"The state can't let this fester as it has. We have postponed and postponed until the inevitable is here," he said.

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