State Approves $725 Million Bond Sale to Build Two Prisons

FILE – William E. Donaldson prison in Bessemer, Ala. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

By KIM CHANDLER

State officials have approved a $725 million bond sale to help finance the construction of two supersize prisons intended to house up to 4,000 inmates each.

The Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority, which is chaired by Gov. Kay Ivey, met Thursday and approved the bond sale.

Alabama officials are pursuing construction of the prisons to replace aging facilities, calling that a partial solution to the state’s longstanding prison woes.

The U.S. Department of Justice has kept up a lawsuit against the state over prison conditions, saying the system is riddled with prisoner-on-prisoner and guard-on-prisoner violence. Alabama lawmakers approved the prison construction plan in October.

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