OAKLAND, CA — As Alabama legislators scramble to fit in a special session to handle the future of the state’s prison system, CoreCivic, the private prison firm who would have been the builder and owner of a proposed massive project, announced the state of Alabama terminated the leases for the project during an earnings call. This disclosure follows a successful campaign organized by an unprecedented coalition of groups including Alabama grassroots organizations, national human rights organizations, impact investors, and business leaders who called on global financial institutions to refuse to purchase a $630 million taxable municipal bond offering by the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) that would fund this CoreCivic project. The following is a joint statement from Presente.org, Worth Rises, Communities Not Prisons, and Justice Capital:
“It is a well-known fact that private prisons are dangerous, corrupt, and inhumane. Earlier this year we were able to pressure Barclays Bank, Stifel, KeyBank, and the Wisconsin Public Finance Authority (PFA) to pull their investments from the toxic private prison industry, a deal that should have never happened. CoreCivic has finally publicly announced that they received notice from the state of Alabama of their decision to terminate 30-year lease agreements for the development of two correctional facilities. This is surely welcome news as we believe the state of Alabama should invest resources in public health and safety programs that keep communities safe and thriving,” said Matt Nelson, executive director of Presente.org.
“Though the decision came far too late, we’re glad to see Alabama finally terminate its lease with CoreCivic in the wake of a financing disaster for their proposed mega-prison build. Thousands of Alabamians, with the support of national allies, fought tirelessly for this outcome,” said Bianca Tylek, Executive Director of Worth Rises. “And still, CoreCivic does not want to admit total defeat—the corporation is persistent in its pursuit of projects that would behold rural communities to a debt of incarceration. It’s time they let it go and Alabama legislators turn their attention away from building new prisons and toward developing real solutions to the unconstitutional dangers in Alabama's prisons.”
“Investors have sent a clear message to Alabama and any other state who would think of following suit that investor interest is in spurring equitable economic growth, not investing in mass incarceration and exacerbating economic inequity. We stay committed to Alabama's future,” said Christina Hollenback, from Justice Capital who helped organize investors to refuse the financing of this investment.
“The coalition and our partners made CoreCivic well aware that Alabamians don’t need new prisons. As organizations committed to creating an inclusive, equitable and sustainable way of life for our communities, we will continue to organize to ensure corporations like CoreCivic are stopped in their tracks from perpetuating mass incarceration,” said LaTonya Tate of Communities Not Prisons.