But Allen, who was also given a 30-day deadline by the governor to develop a plan to deal with Alabama's chronic overcrowding crisis, now finds himself in one of the state's most crucial positions.

Years and years of overcrowding in the state's prisons have not gone unnoticed by advocates for the incarcerated, nor by various arms of the federal government. And Riley's worst nightmare is that one of the many state and federal lawsuits filed against the system could result in a costly federal court order to fix the system.

The urgency of the governor's concerns is evident in his 30-day deadline he gave Allen to come up with a plan. Allen has to detail how to fix an underfunded system plagued with not only overcrowding, but also staffing shortages, crumbling facilities and aged equipment.

Allen, who was working as a private attorney when he was tapped by Riley last week, has never worked in the penal system before, but he was the lead adviser to the governor's task force that put together a series of recommendations last fall to improve sentencing and prison conditions.

In appointing him commissioner, Riley also charged Allen with implementing the task force recommendations.

Riley called Allen "a can-do person who is eager to tackle this job, reform the system and bring about some needed solutions."

And as quickly as possible, he could have added.

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