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Former inmates allege procurement kickbacks and corruption inside DOC
Summary
Several speakers with long custodial experience alleged systemic corruption and kickbacks at the Alabama Department of Corrections, including an allegation that $3,000,000 in copper pipe was discarded rather than accounted for, and urged statutory oversight.
Multiple speakers who spent years inside Alabama correctional facilities told the committee they had observed what they described as systemic corruption tied to procurement and internal distribution of goods.
Marcus Miller said corruption "starts from the top" and described a specific example at Donaldson Correctional Facility where, he alleged, a large quantity of copper pipe was discarded rather than properly processed: "At Donaldson Correctional Facility, we dug a copper pipe. $3,000,000 worth of copper pipe. We discarded in a trash pile," he said, and added that kickbacks and misallocated program funding feed violence and malfeasance.
Other commenters described inmates handling paperwork that allowed material to leave facilities, and argued that some programs exist mainly to secure funding streams rather than to rehabilitate. The committee did not debate or vote on procurement reforms during the session, but lawmakers said they would consider contract processes as part of the examiner's broader DOC review.
