Joint Prison Committee Meets for First Time Since Documentary Shines Light on Alabama Prisons

The joint legislative committee overseeing Alabama prisons convened publicly Wednesday for the first time since the release of the HBO documentary The Alabama Solution, which has drawn national scrutiny to conditions in Alabama’s correctional system.

Several attendees wore t-shirts demanding greater transparency from the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC). One of them, prison-reform advocate Matthew Charles—who spent more than two decades behind bars on drug charges—described the documentary as “alarming… sad… hurtful.” “I’ve actually seen first-hand some of those abuses take place,” he said.

Charles urged lawmakers to authorize an independent oversight mechanism. “Here’s a neutral party going in, addressing issues that the Department of Justice already said exist in Alabama prisons and trying to come up with a solution to correct them,” he said.

During the session, State Representative Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa), referenced a scene in the film alleging that an Alabama officer beat an inmate to death and continues to work for the ADOC. “You would get the impression from watching the film and also looking at your own evidence that the system not only encourages it, but it also enables it,” England said. “So in order to root that sort of thing out and make the public know we are aware of those things, folks like that can’t work for us.”

On the other side, State Rep. Matt Simpson (R-Daphne) did not mention the documentary by name. He pointed, however, to the fact that under current Commissioner John Hamm, more than 100 ADOC staff members have been arrested. “Yes, it may look like a black eye in the newspaper, but at the end of the day, that is exactly the accountability to help change the culture,” Simpson said.

The Committee’s next meeting is slated for January.

The public meeting marks a turning point for the State’s prison oversight. In light of the documentary—widely seen as a catalyst for renewed attention—the Committee now faces pressure to back reforms and transparency measures. With advocates calling for independent review and lawmakers both critical of and defensive about the system’s status quo, the coming months may see significant debate over how Alabama addresses its prison system’s failings.

The Alabama Solution, directed by Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman, is a searing documentary that follows incarcerated activists inside Alabama’s prison system as they expose brutal, hidden-from-view conditions. Drawing on six years of covert cell-phone footage and direct testimony, the film sheds light on overcrowding, unchecked violence, forced labor and a culture of impunity inside the Alabama Department of Corrections.

The trailer to The Alabama Solution may be seen on YouTube or below: