Governor Bentley Releases Statement in Response to Department of Justice Investigation

MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley on Thursday issued a statement regarding the Department of Justice Investigation. The Governor’s statement is below:

“I welcome an investigation by the Department of Justice into Alabama’s prisons. We both share a common goal of wanting to improve the safety of the officers and inmates within the facilities. I have personally met with representatives from the Department of Justice, and following those meetings the Alabama Department of Corrections made several critical changes to Tutwiler Prison for Women.  I have also had the opportunity to personally meet in Washington D.C. with Attorney General Loretta Lynch and discuss the issue of overcrowding in Alabama and across the country. I shared with Attorney General Lynch the Alabama Prison Transformation Initiative announced earlier this year. This plan includes modern prisons that will reduce overcrowding and improve safety conditions for inmates and corrections officers.

I welcome the opportunity to continue to work with the Department of Justice and continue the efforts to make Alabama prisons better. This issue of overcrowding is a decade’s old issue that must be addressed. I am looking forward to again working with the Alabama Legislature to permanently solve this problem.”

The letter from the Department of Justice can be found here.