Alabama Court Allows Lawsuit Over Indigent Traffic Offenders Jailed for Not Paying Fines by David Reutter by David M. Reutter An Alabama federal district court allowed portions of a lawsuit to move forward that sought damages from the City of Montgomery (the City) and Judicial Correction Services, Inc. (JCS). The …
News in Brief by Alabama: On August 21, 2020, Sylvester Hartley became the seventh prisoner to die of complications from COVID-19 at Alabama’s St. Clair Correctional Facility, according to a report in the St. Clair News-Aegis. The 60-year-old, who was serving a life-without-parole sentence for three counts of first-degree kidnapping, …
Alabama Guards Accused of Excessive Use of Force, Hospitalizing One Prisoner and Injuring Another by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss Christopher Hampton and Cortney Rolley, represented by Eric Artrip of Mastando & Artrip, LLC, filed a class-action suit against a group of guards at Elmore Correctional Facility (ECF) located near …
US v. State of Alabama, AL, Complaint, Failure to Protect, 2020 FILED Case 2:20-cv-01971-JHE Document 1 Filed 12/09/20 Page 1 of 24 2020 Dec-09 PM 04:28 U.S. DISTRICT COURT N.D. OF ALABAMA IN THE UNITED STATES DISIRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRTCT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION ) ) ) ) …
News in Brief by Alabama: Chanting “not one more,” about 30 carloads of protesters from “Alabamians Who Care” caravanned to the governor’s mansion in Montgomery on August 1, 2020, protesting a plan by Gov. Kay Ivey (R) to build three new “mega-prisons.” According to a report by Montgomery TV station …
Families of 4 Alabama Prisoners Who Committed Suicide File Federal Lawsuit Against Prison Officials by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On February 24, 2020, the families of four Alabama state prisoners who committed suicide as they languished in isolation cells in the Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC) filed a federal …
News in Brief by Alabama: The Birmingham News reported that an Alabama prison guard had been arrested for drug trafficking after a search of his vehicle when he arrived for work at the St. Clair County prison turned up 138 grams of methamphetamine and 16 grams of heroin. Ivan Caldwell, …
Alabama Executes Non-Shooter in Police Killings by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The death penalty is advocated both for punishing the most atrocious cases of murder and for its alleged deterrent effect. Yet on March 5, 2020, Alabama executed a 44-year-old man, not for committing murder but instead because …
DOJ Finds Frequent Use of Excessive Force in Alabama Prisons by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a report that found the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) violates prisoners’ Eighth Amendment rights by frequently using excessive force. The report found overcrowding and understaffing …
News in Brief by Alabama: In February 2020, a grand jury in Limestone County, Alabama, returned an indictment for “possession/receipt of a controlled substance” against Travis Wales, a former guard at the Limestone County Correctional Facility in Harvest. According to Columbus, Georgia, TV station WBRL, Wales was arrested in September …
Braggs v. Dunn, AL, Opinion and Order, Systemic Medical Neglect, 2020 Case 2:14-cv-00601-MHT-JTA Document 2984 Filed 09/24/20 Page 1 of 16 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA, NORTHERN DIVISION EDWARD BRAGGS, et al., ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) …
Alabama DOC Report: Staff Beat, Hog-Tied, and Denied Medical Care to Fatally Injured Prisoner Seeking Help; Then Covered It Up by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke According to a secret report by the Investigation & Intelligence Division of the Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC), guards beat and hog-tied a prisoner …
Former Prisoners Are Running for Office In 2020 by Daniel A. Rosen by Daniel A. Rosen When those who have been incarcerated run for office, they can speak with authority about prison reform. They bring credibility that others simply can’t. In 2020, more ex-inmates than ever are coming out of …
Bad Behavior: Key to Getting Promoted for Alabama Prison Officials by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell It seems the best way to move up through the ranks within the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) is to be a problem child. Personnel records reviewed by Injustice Watch show that prison guards …
Alabama Says It Will Reform Prisons, the Nation’s Deadliest by Bill Barton by Bill Barton According to Department of Justice (DOJ) statistics, Alabama’s prisons have the highest homicide rate among U.S. state prison systems, and it appears that rate is continuing to rise. A 2019 DOJ report said, “An excessive …
Alabama Should Release Elder Prisoners at Risk for COVID-19 by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon The efficacy of states continuing to retain elderly prisoners has been questioned by corrections experts for decades. The problems with continuing to needlessly incarcerate senior prisoners has become even more germane amidst the ongoing coronavirus …
These Sheriffs Release Sick Inmates to Avoid Paying Their Hospital Bills by Connor Sheets, AL.com, with ProPublica This article was produced in partnership with AL.com, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. This article was originally published …
Alabama Reopens Ancient Prison to Quarantine COVID-19 Prisoners by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Prisons are obvious contagion grounds for COVID-19, and conditions in Alabama are among the worst in the nation. Now, it appears, those conditions could get worse even as the coronavirus problem is rapidly spreading at prisons …
Sign the Papers! Alabama Prisoners Get Masks for COVID-19 but With Strings Attached by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon As the threat of COVID-19 contagion has become tangible to prison populations across the United States, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) has implemented risk management and mitigation protocols throughout its …
Alabama Grandma Sentenced to Life on Drug Charge Finally Paroled by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In recent years many states have made changes to their criminal codes in an effort to reduce their prison populations. Those amendments, however, are rarely retroactive and leave those already imprisoned to serve …
