← All States

State Reform Profile

Alabama

Alabama has one of the highest incarceration rates in the US. Recent reforms focus on sentencing guidelines and reentry support.

ALTREFORM COMPOSITE69/100

Key Statistics

Incarceration Rate
833
per 100,000 residents
Annual Cost
$17K
per incarcerated person
3-Year Recidivism
71%
reincarcerated within 3 yrs
Racial Disparity
4.1×
Black vs. White incarceration
Alt. Programs
12
active diversion programs
Reform Initiatives
4
tracked by AltReform

Incarceration by Race

AL Overall833
National Avg568
Black (est.)2,049
White (est.)372

Incarceration rate per 100,000 residents. Racial estimates based on BJS/Sentencing Project methodology.

Recidivism Rate

71%3-year recidivism
This stateNational avg: 67%

Percent of people reincarcerated within 3 years of release. Source: BJS recidivism data series.

Cost vs. Alternatives

$17K
incarceration/yr
vs.
~$5K
diversion/yr

Active & Passed Reforms

4 initiatives

Alabama Prison Transform InitiativeView full details →

Federal consent decree requiring healthcare reform and population reduction in state prisons.

ActiveReentry2021
AltReform Score62/100

SB 32 – Sentencing Reform ActView full details →

Reduced mandatory minimums for non-violent drug offenses and expanded parole eligibility.

PassedSentencing2019
AltReform Score71/100

Community Corrections ExpansionView full details →

Expanded supervision alternatives to incarceration for low-risk offenders.

ActiveDiversion2020
AltReform Score68/100

Data Sources & Methodology

Reform data sourced from state legislative records, BJS Criminal Justice Statistics, the Vera Institute Incarceration Trends dataset, and The Sentencing Project. AltReform prediction scores (0,100) are generated by our ML model trained on 20+ years of state-level reform outcomes, weighting recidivism reduction, racial equity impact, cost-effectiveness, and political feasibility. Statistics are the most recent available (2021,2024).

Want to analyze a specific reform proposal for Alabama?

Open The Policy Studio™ →