What is the problem? Under current Alabama law, people who are released from prison are expected to immediately begin repaying old court debts – typically before they are even able to secure housing or steady employment. If they are unable to produce the cash, it often leads to encounters with courts, law enforcement, and re-incarceration. It doesn’t have to be this way: Alabama could follow the lead of other states and pass “grace period” on the repayment of fines and fees for people returning from incarceration, giving them an opportunity to get established before those debts are collected. Such legislation would improve re-entry, reduce recidivism, and make all of our communities safer.

You can use this online portal to send letters to your state senators urging them to pass a fines and fees grace period for people released from Alabama’s prisons (HB95, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Gray). This legislation has already passed out of the Alabama House of Representatives (though an amendment reduced the grace period from 180 days to 90 days before it passed). If we can get this bill through the Alabama Senate – and if we can restore the bill's original 180 day language along the way – we will be able to make life better for thousands of Alabamians every year.

Once you send those letters, you can share this portal with other people in your community. Lawmakers need to hear from us so that they will make this a priority!