After serving two terms as a Morgan County commissioner, Stacey George spent more than a decade working inside Alabama’s prison system as a correctional officer. His firsthand experiences during more than 13 years on staff at Limestone Correctional Facility eventually led to his involvement with The Alabama Solution, a feature-length documentary examining conditions inside Alabama’s state prison system. The documentary features never-before-seen footage from inside Alabama prisons captured on inmates’ contraband cell phones and was recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Currently, George travels with “The Alabama Solution Tour,” a series of community screenings followed by panel discussions with creators and advocates. The program has been hosted at locations in Huntsville and Birmingham, with other events planned across the state. George participates in the tour with a display of homemade weapons, called ‘shanks’, which were confiscated from inmates at Limestone Correctional Facility.
“Such weapons are common inside prisons and are often carried by inmates for self-defense.” George said. “They are often in danger, not just from other prisoners, but sometimes from guards as well.”…