Gov. Bentley Considers Calling Special Session
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says he is considering calling a special session on prison construction in early 2017.
Bentley says the possible session would center on an $800 million bond issue. The governor proposed the legislation last session, but it failed in the last session.
The state prison system has come under criticism for crowding and outbreaks of violence.
The U.S. Department of Justice last month launched an investigation into conditions in Alabama prisons.
A corrections officer died in September after being stabbed by an inmate at William C. Holman Correctional Facility.
Alabama prisons house nearly twice the inmates they were originally designed to hold.
The administration has argued that consolidating existing prisons into modern facilities would generate enough savings to pay for construction.
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