Alabama. Dept. of Corrections.

Authorities:

Alabama Government Manual. Sixth edition. (Atlanta: Darby Printing Company, 1982).

Code of Alabama 1975, 14:1:1-14:12:4. (Charlottesville: The Michie Company, 1977).

Markley, Anne Ethelyn. Author Headings for the Official Publications of the State of Alabama. (Chicago: American Library Association, 1948).

The Ala. Department of Corrections is an administrative department responsible for administering and exercising direct and effective control over penal and corrections institutions throughout the state. (Code of Ala. 1975, Sec. 14:1:1.2)

In 1839 the Ala. Legislature provided for the establishement of a State Penitentiary, and authorized the compilation of a Code of Criminal Laws and a set of rules "suitable to the organization of the Prison." (Acts of Ala., 1838/39, No. 39, Section 3)

The Penal Code of 1841 called for three inspectors and a warden to be elected by joint vote of the Legislature. The inspectors were authorized to appoint a clerk and a physician to assist them in their duties, which were:

1) to establish rules and regulations specifying the duties of the officers of the Penitentiary, and for the government, employment, and discipline of the convicts, and for the custody and preservation of public property;

2) to visit the penitentiary once a month to inspect the books and determine if the laws and regulations were being observed;

3) to report to the Governor annually detailing the transactions of the penitentiary; the number of convicts confined, their offenses, terms of imprisonment, their ages, sizes, previous occupations or professions, and place of birth; the number of convicts who had been pardoned, discharged, or died during the year, stating their home counties, ages, sex, and color, and in the case of death, the cause;

4) to remove convicts to secure places in the event of epidemic, infectious disease, or other urgent occasion; and

5) to direct the warden to make contracts for the labor of the convicts, and to retain a copy of those contracts. (Penal Code, 1841, Sections 12-23)

The inspectors during their term of office were exempt from serving on juries, from militia duty, and from working on the public roads. (Penal Code, 1841, Section 33)

The Legislature in 1885 expanded the duties of the Board of Inspectors of the Penitentiary and renamed that body the Board of Inspectors of Convicts. The President of the Board and two other inspectors were appointed by the Governor, with the advice of the Senate, to have general supervision and control of State and county convicts for a term of six years. The office of warden was abolished, and the President of the Board assumed his duties. (Acts of Ala., 1884/85, No. 112, Sections 1, 4)

The duties of the Board of Inspectors of Convicts were:

1) to make advertisement of the hiring of convicts, to receive sealed bids for convict labor, and to be present when the Governor opened the bids;

2) to keep a record of the place and person to whom convicts were hired and the terms and amount of hire;

3) to direct the clerk each month to make an account against each contractor showing the number of convicts employed and the amount of hire due, the accounts to be paid to the State Auditor;

4) to report to the solicitor of the Circuit Court all violations of the laws in regard to convicts that came to their knowledge;

5) to summon, swear, and examine witnesses as to any matter concerning the management and treatment of convicts;

6) to submit to the Governor a quarterly report of the condition of the convicts and of the work done by prison officials;

7) to determine whether or not a convict should wear shackles and chains;

8) to appoint a chaplain; and

9) to furnish each convict within a month of his confinement a card bearing his date of conviction, term of sentence, and expiration of sentence. (Acts of Ala., 1885, No. 112, Sections 9, 13, 23, 25, 26, 32, 39, 40)

The Legislature in 1893 established the Board of Managers of Convicts to have authority over the Board of Inspectors of Convicts. The Board was composed of nine members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate. The members were to be from each of the nine congressional districts of the State and would serve a term of six years. The president of the Board of Inspectors of Convicts was designated ex-officio secretary of the Board of Managers, and the Governor was to serve as ex-officio president of the Board. The Managers of Convicts were required to meet at the state Capitol at least once every three months, and at the penitentiary as often as the Governor deemed necessary. (Acts of Ala., 1893, No. 12)

The duties of the Board of Managers of Convicts were:

1) to appoint officers, wardens, keepers, agents, clerks, chaplains, teachers, and surgeons for the proper administration, discipline, and maintenance of convicts;

2) to appoint a Superintendent of Convicts upon the expiration of the term of office of the president of the Board of Inspectors of Convicts;

3) to establish a reformatory for all convicts under the age of sixteen;

4) to supervise the system of contracting for convict labor; and

5) to buy, lease, and condemn land for the use of convicts and to erect buildings, structures, houses, and prisons. (Acts of Ala. 1893, No. 102 1/2, Article 1, Sections 3, 4, 35, 36, 44)

The duties of the Superintendent of Convicts were:

1) to appoint wardens, physicians, chaplains, and clerks in the absence of the Managers of Convicts, and to suspend them pending the decision of the Managers;

2) to require reports from the warden pertaining to the administration of the penitentiary;

3) to serve as ex-officio secretary to the Board of Managers and to keep a full record and minutes of their proceedings; and

4) to inquire into any improper conduct of the warden or any other officer, keeper, guard, or employee. (Acts of Ala., 1893, No. 102 1/2, Article 1, Section 8)

An act of the Legislature of 1895 abolished the Board of Managers and created the Board of Inspectors of Convicts to supervise the management and control of convicts. The Governor appointed the Inspectors, one of whom he designated as President of the Board, and one of whom had to be a licensed physician. The Inspectors' term of office was two years. (Acts of Ala., 1895, No. 438, Section 1)

The President was authorized:

1) to appoint, with the Governor's approval, two clerks to keep the records and books pertaining to the State and county convicts;

2) to exercise supervision over all officers, convicts, land, and property belonging to the State; and

3) to procure a sufficient number of Bibles and other religious and reading material for the convicts, not exceeding $500 per year. (Acts of Ala., 1895, No. 438, Sections 1, 3, 37)

The duties of the State Board of Inspectors of Convicts were:

1) to meet once every month;

2) to adopt rules to prevent inhumane treatment, or cruel or exessive punishment of State and county convicts;

3) to regulate the time and amount of work performed by convicts, and the manner of working the convicts;

4) to have an Inspector visit the prison every two weeks to examine the food, clothes, quarters, bedding, and provisions for the sick; to report any violations to officials at the prison and to the president of the Board of Inspectors;

5) to submit a monthly report to the Governor on the condition of the prisons visited;

6) to inspect those convicts contracted to work in mines or on railroads; and

7) to prepare for the Governor to present to the Legislature a report on the number of convicts, their offenses, the number from each county, the number sentenced for life, and for different periods, the ages, race, and sex; the names of all who had died, with the place, date, and cause of death; the names of those who had escaped, with the date and place of escape; the names of those recaptured with the dates and places of their recapture; the number hired to each contractor, the contractor's residence, the expiration date of the contract, the nature of the labor, and the amount of money realized; and what moral and religious instruction was provided. (Acts of Ala., 1895, No. 438, Sections 5, 7, 8, 9)

In 1911 the Legislature established the office of State Prison Inspector. The Inspector was to be a licensed physician, "learned in the science of sanitation, hygiene, and ventilation." Initially appointed by the Governor, the office of State Prison Inspector was subsequently filled by election by the State Board of Health. The State Prison Inspector discharged the duties of his office in connection with and as part of the work of the State Board of Health. (Acts of Ala., 1911, No.303, Sections 1-2)

The Inspector was authorized to appoint a chief clerk/stenographer and two deputy inspectors to assist him in his duties:

1) to inspect at least twice a year every county jail, alms-house, municipal jail, and prison in the State to aid in securing the just, humane and economic management of all such institutions;

2) to require the erection of sanitary buildings for the accommodation of the inmates, and to investigate the management of the institutions and the conduct of the officers;

3) to require that the buildings and grounds be kept in the best sanitary condition;

4) to make a detailed report to the Governor of the number of inmates, their health, the condition of the buildings, sanitation arrangements, cost of management, whether the moneys appropriated were properly expended;

5) to order in writing the courts of county commissioners, boards of revenue, city councils, or other body having jurisdiction over the institution, to make such repairs, alterations, or additions as the Inspector deemed necessary;

6) to condemn any institutions considered by him to be unsanitary, subject to the Governor's approval;

7) to formulate such rules and regulations pertaining to hygiene, sanitation, cleanliness, and healthfulness of the institutions;

8) to remove county and municipal prisoners to the state penitentiary when a county or municipal jail had been condemned by his order; and

9) to require of each county sheriff a monthly report of the number of prisoners in jail, their condition, and the number of times and dates of visits by the county health officer. (Acts of Ala., 1911, No. 303, Section 5-23)

A subsequent act of the Legislature in 1911 authorized the State Prison Inspector to inspect the State's insane asylums, State and county convict camps, and the camps of corporations or individuals leasing State or county convicts. (Acts of Ala., 1911, No. 530, Section 1)

In 1919 the Legislature abolished the State Board of Inspectors of Convicts and transferred the powers and authority of that body to the State Board of Control and Economy. The duties of State Prison Inspector were likewise transferred from the State Board of Health to the State Board of Control and Economy. The duties of the President of the Board of Inspectors of Convicts were exercised by the state Warden General, appointed by the Governor for a four-year term and subordinate to the State Board of Control and Economy. (Acts of Ala., 1919, No. 758, Section 1)

1923 Feb. the Legislature amended the above act of 1919 and renamed the State Board of Control and Economy the State Board of Convict Supervisors. The Board consisted of two members appointed by the Governor, one designated as President and the other as Associate Member. The Board had the charge, management, and operation of the convict system of the State, and was empowered to make all rules and regulations for its own government and for working the convicts. The State Board of Convict Supervisors was authorized:

1) to make changes in the arrangements with reference to the segregation and treatment of tubercular convict patients;

2) to keep on file an inventory of all office furniture, fixtures, and supplies of all offices, departments, commissions, bureaus, and boards of the State;

3) to require of every head of department, office, commission, bureau, or board a strict account of any discrepancy between inventories from year to year;

4) to prescribe rules and regulations governing the manner in which State property, furniture, or articles might be sold;

5) to provide for the public printing and binding of materials for the State;

6) to exercise supervision over the care, custody, equipment, repairing, insurance, inventorying, and accounting for all property of the State except that of educational, charitable, and eleemosynary institutions, which are under their own boards of trustees or managers;

7) to report annually to the Governor the results of the Board's operations and the conduct of its business;

8) to require of all State, educational, charitable, and eleemosynary institutions quarterly reports showing the amount of money spent and for what purpose; and

9) to make contracts for the purchase of supplies or material for the State upon the request of the Governor. (Acts of Ala., 1923, No. 85, Sections 1, 7, 8)

1923 Sept. the Legislature changed the name of the State Board of Convicts Supervisors to the State Board of Administration. (Acts of Ala., 1923, No. 475)

The term "Convict Department" appears in the 1930/31 annual report of the Board of Administration. The term was often used in the Governors' addresses to the Legislature to refer to whatever board or department had authority over the State's inmates. It should be noted, however, the "Convict Department" was used as a term of convenience or easy identification, but was never the official designation of the Department of Corrections. (Markley, p. 40)

In 1939 the Legislature abolished the State Board of Administration and created in its place the Department of Corrections and Institutions, an executive and administrative department to enable the Governor to exercise a direct and effective control over penal and correctional institutions and the supervision of probationers and parolees. (Acts of Ala., 1919, No. 91, Section 2)

The functions of the Department of Corrections and Institutions were:

1) to manage, supervise, and control all penal and correctional institutions;

2) to exercise all powers and duties performed by the State Board of Administration pertaining to the Convict Department;

3) to sell, distribute, process, or dispose of all farm products, livestock, or poultry raised, or articles, goods, or wares made or manufactured by labor or machinery of the Department;

4) to inspect the jails and prisons;

5) to supervise the employment of prisoners within or without the State prisons;

6) to collect statistics and report to the Governor annually the conditions of prisons, jails, and inmates; and

7) to supervise and control probationers.

The chief administrator of the Department was the Director of Corrections and Institutions, appointed by the Governor to serve at his pleasure. The Director, with the approval of the Governor, was empowered to create divisions for the efficient administration of the Department. (Acts of Ala., 1919, No. 91, Sections 1, 2, 3)

The following divisions were listed in the Ala. Official and Statistical Register for 1943: Accounting; Administrative; Classification, Cold Storage and Abattoir; Dairy; Executive; Identification; Medical; Personnel; Prison Inspection; Prison Products; Records; Regligious Education; Secretarial, Service, Stores, and Transportation of Prisoners. (Markley, p. 40)

In 1953 the Legislature abolished the Department of Corrections and Institutions and created in its place the Board of Corrections of Ala. The Board consisted of five members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term of ten years. The Board was authorized to appoint from among its members a Commissioner of Corrections to be the chief administrative officer of the Board and responsible to it. (Acts of Ala. 1953, No. 202)

In 1979 the Legislature abolished the Board of Corrections and transferred all powers, authority, and responsibilities to the Governor. (Acts of Ala., 1979, No. 79-426)

In 1983 the Legislature re-created the Ala. Department of Corrections, to be headed by a Commissioner of Corrections, appointed by and to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. (Acts of Ala., 1983, No. 83-69, Sections 1, 3)

As of 1985 June, divisions of the Department of Corrections were:

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Accounting.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Agriculture/Industries.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Central Records.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Central Warehouse.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Classification.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Data Processing.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Engineering.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Inspections and Investigations.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Institutions.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Legal.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Personnel.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Procurement.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Public Information.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Training Research.

Alabama. Department of Corrections. Treatment.

From the description of Agency history record. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145407807