MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Gov. Kay Ivey agreed on Monday to lease two mammoth prisons as a partial solution to the state’s troubled correction system, over the objections of some legislators and advocates who warn that her $3 billion plan won’t resolve chronic violence and severe understaffing woes.
The governor signed two 30-year lease agreements with separate entities of CoreCivic, one of the nation’s largest private prison companies.
The prisons will be built in Tallassee and near Atmore. The governor's office is negotiating with another company to build a prison in Bibb County.
While President Joe Biden has ordered the federal system to eliminate the use of private prisons, these facilities will only be built and owned by private companies.