SPLC Calls on Court to Hold Alabama Prison System in Contempt
The Southern Poverty Law Center wants the state prison system held in contempt for failing to fill mental health positions. Contempt hearings began Tuesday in U.S. District Court involving the Alabama Department of Corrections and lawyers representing inmates.
The issue comes a year after a judge ruled mental health care in Alabama prisons was “horrendously inadequate.” A federal court ordered the Department of Corrections to have more than 260 mental health workers on staff by July 1. The state failed to meet that and previous deadlines.
Attorneys with the Southern Poverty Law Center say the goal is to keep pressure on the Department of Corrections until it meets the court’s requirements.
Earlier this year, prison officials signed a new contract with a mental health care vendor, Wexford Health Services. State officials say they have made good faith attempts to meet the staffing requirements, according to legal documents.
They also note the challenge of recruiting to rural areas and a statewide shortage of mental health professionals. The Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The hearings are expected to last through Thursday.
Bill making the Public Service Commission an appointed board is dead for the session
Usually when discussing legislative action, the focus is on what's moving forward. But plenty of bills in a legislature stall or even die. Leaders in the Alabama legislature say a bill involving the Public Service Commission is dead for the session. We get details on that from Todd Stacy, host of Capitol Journal on Alabama Public Television.
My doctor keeps focusing on my weight. What other health metrics matter more?
Our Real Talk with a Doc columnist explains how to push back if your doctor's obsessed with weight loss. And what other health metrics matter more instead.
Baz Luhrmann will make you fall in love with Elvis Presley
The new movie is made up of footage originally shot in the early 1970s, which Luhrmann found in storage in a Kansas salt mine.
Forget the State of the Union. What’s the state of your quiz score?
What's the state of your union, quiz-wise? Find out!
A team of midlife cheerleaders in Ukraine refuses to let war defeat them
Ukrainian women in their 50s and 60s say they've embraced cheerleading as a way to cope with the extreme stress and anxiety of four years of Russia's full-scale invasion.
As the U.S. celebrates its 250th birthday, many Latinos question whether they belong
Many U.S.-born Latinos feel afraid and anxious amid the political rhetoric. Still, others wouldn't miss celebrating their country
