![]() ![]() Another officer witnessed the assaults and failed to intervene,” the complaint reads. “In October 2020, an officer used a baton to strike three compliant prisoners in the Draper intake area. Violence at the hands of correctional officers also continues, despite warnings by the DOJ in 2019, according to the complaint. “These numbers do not capture the full extent of the pattern of sexual abuse at Alabama’s Prisons for Men because many prisoners do not report sexual abuse when it occurs, if at all,” the complaint continues. The number of reported sexual assaults in Alabama’s prisons has skyrocketed between 20, increasing from approximately 140 to nearly 420 during that time, the complaint states. “Although ADOC has not allowed visitors into Alabama’s Prisons for Men since March 2020 pursuant to COVID-19 restrictions, prisoners continue to have easy access to drugs and other illegal contraband,” the complaint reads. The drugs continue to enter prisons despite no visits amid COVID-19 precautions. ADOC also fails to accurately report overdose deaths as such, sometimes referring to them as “natural causes” in reports. ADOC officials confirmed both deaths resulted from prisoner assaults in public news reporting, but they are not reflected in ADOC’s monthly statistical reports,” the complaint states.ĪDOC also hasn’t been able to control contraband, which is resulting in mounting overdose deaths, according to the complaint. Clair was stabbed to death in an open dormitory. Additionally, in February 2021, a 38-year-old prisoner at St. For example, in November 2020, a 48-year-old prisoner at Bullock was beaten and stabbed to death. “ADOC’s statistical reports do not reflect all deaths from prisoner-on-prisoner homicides. The victim was due to be released the next day,” the DOJ wrote in the complaint, referring to the stabbing death of Ian Rettig, first reported by APR.įrom 2015 to 2020, the number of prisoner-on-prisoner homicides increased by more than 200 percent, from 5 to 16 homicides, although ADOC is also underreporting instances of homicides inside state prisons, misclassifying some and simply not reporting others at all, the DOJ notes: “In May 2021, a 23-year-old prisoner was stabbed to death by another prisoner at Fountain. Attorney General Merrick Garland - describes the pattern of violence in Alabama’s prisons for men as “pervasive and systemic” and explains the state has failed to address the deep-seated problems since being notified in 2019. The DOJ in the amended complaint - signed by U.S. “In the two years following the United States’ original notification to the State of unconstitutional conditions of confinement, prisoners at Alabama’s Prisons for Men have continued daily to endure a substantial risk of serious harm, including death, physical violence, and sexual abuse at the hands of other prisoners,” the amended complaint reads. The original complaint followed DOJ reports released in April and July of 2019 that detailed systemic use of excessive force within Alabama’s prisons, and that Alabama’s prisons for men were likely violating inmates’ rights to protection from sexual abuse and physical harm.īy clicking subscribe, you agree to our privacy policy. The amended complaint includes updated deaths and instances of violence and removes one Alabama prison listed in the original complaint - Hamilton Aged and Infirmed Correctional Facility. The DOJ on Wednesday filed an amended complaint, first reported by AL.com, in a December 2020 lawsuit against the state of Alabama and ADOC, which alleged violations of inmates’ constitutional rights to protection from prisoner-on-prisoner violence, sexual abuse and excessive force by prison guards. Department of Justice in an amended complaint says the Alabama Department of Corrections and its leadership continue to fail to protect incarcerated men from physical and sexual violence and death, despite years of warnings from the federal government. ![]()
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