ALG - Alabama Lifers Group - UPDATE

Esther Brown – Outmate

 

     When I moved to Alabama last fall I came with a 19 year history of involvement with Corrections as an outmate, a background as a psychiatric social worker and a firm belief in the tenets put forth by Victor Frankl in his book Man's Search For Meaning. As a concentration camp survivor he had experienced first hand that man cannot survive without hope or meaning. During 10 years in Massachusetts I had seen that how, when allowed, inmates took responsibility for creating meaning in their lives through outreach/service programs for the less fortunate of society. Regrettably these programs fell victim to the trend of the 90s with its shift in direction on punishment rather than rehabilitation.

Last fall, therefore, when my friend, Jesse Morrison, asked me to be the director of the ALG, which he was in the process of founding, my answer was "yes". It was decided that we would organize from the top down. With a letter from Jesse Morrison and the goals of ALG in hand, I spoke to Governor Siegelman, Mr. Haley, head of the Al Department of Corrections and several prominent Al politicians. The response from all was positive. I then incorporated the group and applied for a C 504, non-profit status from the IRS.

ALG was first announced at the national CURE meeting in Atlanta . Then the Cell  Door Magazine ran a feature article that included copies of all the paperwork involved in the creation of ALG. Since then I have received inquiries from Pennsylvania and Maryland on how to start a Lifers group.

Currently we are in touch with a journalist who is planning to write an editorial on ALG in an Al major newspaper. Unfortunately, at this point, despite repeated requests to the Warden and the DOC, ALG has not received the green light, but neither has it been given the red light either. Although this is difficult, ALG refuses to be discouraged and plans to continue to broaden its base of support on the outside in the hope of achieving its goal of being a positive force on the inside.

Esther

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Jesse Morrison - Inmate - President and Founder

The incarcerated face many issues, one of the primary ones being the need and desire to find avenues to express issues of concern confronting them and their families. Often times, when expressed these concerns are met with disdain or they are ignored by the prison administration and society in general. As a result, prisoners and their families are left with feelings of hopelessness and isolation.

The idea of the Alabama Lifers Group is centered on the need of prisoners to be treated in a humane way and to feel some sense of self worth and self-improvement. These goals are achieved by addressing important issues such as LWOP and other long-term sentences.

To achieve the objectives of ALG, much focus has to be placed on the organizing of the prisoners [inside], and their families [outside]. After years of imprisonment, many of us [ALG] have lived through a long period of complacency. We have come to understand the lack of unity among prisoners. There are reasons for this. We realize that along with the divide and conquer tactics used by the prison administration it is also a fact that most prisoners come from economically disadvantaged, unstructured and often dysfunctional backgrounds. Having never experienced anything different, they do not understand the importance of a structured, organized and unified front in order to achieve certain goals.

Since we know that families are greatly affected by the incarceration of their loved ones, the position of ALG is to promote self-determination and self-worth through organized efforts among prisoners and their families. The basic principle used be ALG was to start with core issues that affect everyone, whether it be directly or indirectly. For ALG the central issues are LWOP and other long-term sentences. Once the central issue was established we began to devise a plan that consisted of a goal, agenda and direction. We had to keep in mind that the over all plan had to be saleable to fellow prisoners and be non-threatening to the day-to-day operation of the prison administration.

As the President and founder of ALG I am very much encouraged by the very idea and belief that the human spirit refuses to be held in captivity. It is my hope and dream that through my efforts and those of my colleagues, both inside and outside, ALG will inspire others to take up the struggle to promote a more sensible and humane approach of addressing the issues and concerns of the ever growing prison population in this country. We embrace an approach that recognizes and understands the value of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is promoted by the recognition of man's right to self-determination and his desire to improve his condition.

 In the Struggle,

 Jesse

Alabama Lifers Group Articles

    U.S. House of Representatives Resolution
    Welcome Announcement
    Letter of Intent to form Group
    Letter to Commissioner of Corrections
    Proposal to Warden
    Membership Application
    Articles of Incorporation
    Organizational By-Laws

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