There's a reason Alabama's correctional system is broken. Alabama's conservative leadership hopes to defeat that.

It's really that simple. They have no intention of fixing it. They are not willing to understand its many flaws and injustices. They have no capacity to care about the human beings who suffer every day because of their indifference and neglect.

They don't even know how it works.

If you doubt this, let's talk about early releases and Bernard Abney.

In 2005, Abney pleaded guilty to second-degree rape and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He has already been incarcerated for more than a year and a half awaiting trial, and the trial court has given him credit for his release, which is scheduled for release sometime in 2023, according to court records.

However, Abney apparently behaved well in prison and was granted early release in January 2023 as part of a program put in place by the state Legislature. The program was intended to alleviate prison overcrowding by releasing and monitoring some inmates who met certain criteria. Abney was one of them.

However, Abney did not abide by the law. He failed to register as a sex offender and was rearrested in February 2023 to serve out the remainder of his sentence, according to court records. That's what he did.

After being released again, Abney allegedly committed another crime, this time without supervision as he completed his sentence. He was arrested last week after allegedly attacking a Foley woman with a knife and was charged with attempted rape and assault.

Now, someone of some intelligence who understands how these systems work would look at a situation like that and think: Well, someone who just served 20 years in prison – It's probably not the best idea to release someone – who was already in trouble with the law just a few months ago – onto the street with no supervision, support or guidance.

Ah, but unfortunately such people are rarely chosen.

Instead, Foley Mayor Ralph Helmich appeared, attacking the “early release” program for allowing Abney to be released from prison. And…here's a look…State Sen. Chris Elliott, who serves on the Judiciary Committee, also condemned Abney's “early release.”

Elliott told 1819 News. “Many of us said this is a bad idea. We're going to see examples of people being released early and then recidivating and committing crimes, and it's not a measure that supports public safety, and I Unfortunately, we are looking at the results.”

Look, folks, Chris Elliott tried to warn you that this thing that never happened would be a problem, even though the actual problem is the exact opposite of what he warned about.

It's kind of a problem that the people who are literally responsible for making the rules of the correctional system don't understand the rules they're making.

The early release had nothing to do with Abney's crimes last week. The early release supervision program is working as expected, and if Abney had not been released and forced into the supervision program, he may at least not have committed the violent crime.

Abney's situation is one that Congressman Chris England, a criminal justice reform advocate and frequent critic of the stagnant pardon and parole system, has repeatedly warned about. Skipping the parole process, which occurs with unprecedented frequency in this state, only 8 percent of eligible prisoners were released on parole in 2023. Instead, we end up with a system that simply throws incarcerated people onto the streets for a pittance. Optional, monitoring.

Somehow that's better than allowing inmates who have a good track record while incarcerated to leave prison early and participate in a monitoring program that ensures someone is keeping track of them. It is considered excellent for public safety. Track their mental health and watch for signs of trouble.

But it seems tough when it comes to crime.

It sounds very harsh to say that criminals were forced to serve prison terms. Or, as Elliott said, “Why do we release bad people from prison, and why should we?” And of course, the answer is no. ”

Because the good guys wear white and the bad guys wear black, so it's easy to tell them apart. It's basic mathematics.

The simple facts are: Until we have people in charge who are interested enough to understand how the systems and programs they are responsible for actually work, we will remain hopelessly lost. Our correctional system will remain hopelessly broken.

And instead of getting tougher on crime, our system will remain the way it is and remain dangerous to all of us.