(WKRG, ATMORE, ALABAMA)

Protestors gather at Holman prison to draw attention to problems they say need to be fixed. Nearly a month ago riot videos from inside the prison caught the attention of the state.

“Something needs to be done, just because people are in prison doesn’t mean they should live in crappy conditions,” said Logan Holder with the Socialist Party of Southern Alabama. Just about a month ago videos from inside the prison showed a riot and what inmates said were terrible conditions. Prison reform is one of those issues that’s kind of caught traction in the latter days of the legislative session but the protesters out here don’t think the solution is to just build more prisons

“They need to start letting people out of prison, we have a lot of people in prison that’s not even guilty building more prisons is just going to cause more problems it’s going to be more peoples and more problems,” said Antonia Brooks. Her son is in prison and she’s part of a group called FAM. That stands for “Families and Mothers.” Most of the people here say more prisons will just ignore a larger issue.

“In this area we have had one school closed and he’s talking about building more prisons,” said Mark Holder with the Socialist Part of Southern Alabama. While they protest against the prison system they’re also fighting apathy. Few people care about prison reform. In recent exclusive news five strategy polls nearly 2/3rds of respondents are against spending $800-millionon new prisons and only 22% consider new facilities a high priority. Protesters also wanted the resignation of Holman warden Carter Davenport. Some protesters wore head scarves or bandanas because they did not want their identities known. A bill to borrow to build new prisons passed the Alabama State Senate last week.