Even after paroling over 300 female prisoners this spring and sending 300 female prisoners to private prisons out of state, the prison facilities for female prisoners in Alabama are still operating at about 173% of their capacity according to the Alabama Department of Corrections Monthly Statistical Report for July 2003. As the data and individual inmate stories contained in this report illustrate, there remain a very sizable number of women in Alabama’s prisons today who could be safely returned to the community without jeopardizing public safety.