A member of Alabama’s Prison Reform Task Force attended a summit in Washington, D.C., this week to learn how Texas changed its prison laws and saved money.
The Lone Star state changed its sentencing laws and invested millions in drug rehabilitation programs earlier this decade after it was faced with the unsettling prospect of spending billions to build and operate new prisons. In the past four years, Texas saved enough money from its reform efforts to close a state-run prison, three juvenile centers, and two privately run prisons.