Late last month, several inmate workers in Alabama prisons across the state went on strike. The prisoners organizing the strike put out a list of demands, including doing away with life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Gov. Kay Ivey called the demands “unreasonable” and gave no sign of supporting any of the changes the prisoners proposed.
State Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa) disagreed with Ivey, saying “there is nothing unreasonable about any of these proposals.”
There is nothing unreasonable about any of these proposals. pic.twitter.com/GKVUGDCRGg
— Chris England (@RepEngland70) October 6, 2022
Thursday on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program,” State Rep. Matt Simpson (R-Daphne) discussed why he will never support doing away with the life-without-parole sentences.
“There are some offenses that deserve the person should be put away without parole,” Simpson said. “If you are committing these offenses, then there are punishments that you have to have.
“You hear so much in the news and spin from certain mainstream media focuses about rehabilitation and how life without parole is a bad thing and all these other crimes, the death penalty is a bad thing, but there’s more to the prison system and criminal justice, as far as punishment, than just punishment. You also have to deter others from committing these offenses.”
Simpson agreed with Ivey that the prisoners’ demands are unreasonable and said if anything there should be tougher penalties against certain criminals.
“I think this is an overreach by this group to try to come after whatever they can get to have people get out of prison,” he said. “One thing I wish that they would do is enforce the death penalty a lot more. Unfortunately, it takes 30 to 40 years for people to actually have to face the consequences that the jury has determined if they get a death penalty sentence.
“I think it’s cruel and inhumane to have people sit there for 30 or 40 years waiting for that experience. We need to speed that up and process that quickly.”
Simpson said there is one reform he’d like to see when it comes to sentencing criminals in the justice system.
“I do think we need truth in sentencing,” he said, “I’ll be honest with you. I think that when we assign a number to someone to say how long that person is going to be in prison, that’s fair to that person and to the victim to understand you’re going to be in prison for this long. If you’re saying 7, 8, or 9 years, at least somebody has some closure on the fact for the next 7, 8, 9 years that person will be in prison, but unfortunately we’re in the situation now where people get out of prison early.”
Simpson pointed out the biggest issue with Alabama prisons is overcrowding.
“The problem with our prisons is they’re overcrowded. The Legislature has done more to build more prisons,” he said. “I don’t agree with shutting down as many prisons as the plan is, but we have to do something here to make sure that people feel safe, when they go to bed at night, that they are safe in their homes … If we want to make sure that people come to Alabama, people stay in Alabama, they need to feel safe in their homes and their communities.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
