"Governor Bob Riley formed the Task Force on Prison Crowding to thoroughly evaluate the current state of the Alabama Criminal Justice System and address the growing concern over the crowded conditions within the prisons. The Task Force held five public meetings in which testimony was presented of the following Alabama State agencies : Department of Corrections; Paroles; Sentencing Commission; Administrative Office of Courts; Criminal Center; and, Mental Health. Testimony was also presented by on the following topics : community corrections; re-entry programs and facilities;prison development; effective restructure of criminal justice systems; sentencing reform;information systems; and, the effective gathering and processing of data. In addition oral testimony, the Task Force received voluminous written materials on each topics that were presented to, and reviewed by, its members. Based upon this information, the Task Force has found that, at a time when other justice agencies have made significant innovations, the Alabama Department has lagged far behind. By clinging to outdated philosophies and systems that have been in place for at least the past three decades, of Corrections has deteriorated to the point of crisis."--Introduction.