Governor Tours Tutwiler Prison Amid Scandal

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This isn’t the first time Governor Robert Bentley has walked the halls of Tutwiler Women’s Prison.

But this is probably the biggest crowd of reporters he’s ever had with him.

Even though he has some calling for his resignation, the governor says he’s already addressed the scandal and says he doesn’t want it to impact important projects going through the legislature, like the prison bill.

“I want them to not get fixated on any one particular personal issue. I want them to look at the entire state as a whole and see what needs to be done in this state as I say to help the people of Alabama and to help this state move forward and hopefully we can be number one in a lot of things rather than being the worst,” said Governor Bentley.

Tutwiler is one of the prisons set to be replaced if lawmakers pass the bill.

The facility was built in the 1940’s and while it’s seen improvements like a new surveillance system, the governor says it’s beyond renovations.

“You saw the number of bunks, you saw the beds that were crowded into these dormitories. Even though monitoring takes place and things have improved here it is still vastly overcrowded and we need to change that,” said Bentley.

Some have been critical of the plan, citing management and staff as the biggest problem in the prison system.
Commissioner Jeff Dunn, after taking the job one year ago, says he recognizes the issue.

“Because I think we have tried hard to bring as many folks in because of the staffing level, there were times that possibly some folks were brought inside the department that maybe shouldn’t have been brought inside the department. So to address that issue I appointed a new deputy commissioner for training, development, and education,” said Dunn.