Video appears to show Alabama corrections officer beating inmate
In this June 18, 2015 file photo, prisoners stand in a crowded lunch line during a prison tour at Elmore Correctional Facility in Elmore, Ala.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama corrections officers has been placed on leave following a video that appears to show him beating a distressed inmate who had climbed to the edge of a roof.
The video, circulating on social media, shows what appears to be a distressed inmate on the edge of a roof at a building at Elmore Correctional Facility, while a group of prison staff look at him from the ground. An officer walks across the roof and drags the inmate back from the edge. The officer then appears to punch the inmate several times once he is away from the edge.
Officer Ell White has been placed on mandatory leave pending investigation, a spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Corrections wrote in an email.
The prison system said Jimmy K. Norman, a 44-year-old inmate, “had climbed on top of the facility chapel, prompting Officer White and other correctional officers to attempt to escort Norman off the roof.”
The Law Enforcement Services Division of the Alabama Department of Corrections is investigating the incident and response by the staff involved, the prison system said.
The U.S. Department of Justice has an ongoing civil lawsuit against Alabama over conditions in the state prisons, saying the state is failing to protect male inmates from inmate-on-inmate violence and excessive force at the hands of prison staff.
The 2020 lawsuit alleges that conditions in the prison system — which the Justice Department called one of the most understaffed and violent in the country — are so poor that they violate the ban on cruel and unusual punishment and that state officials are “deliberately indifferent” to the problems. Alabama officials have acknowledged problems in the prison system, but are disputing the Justice Department’s accusations.
Sunday Puzzle: It takes two
Ilyse Levine-Kanji of Westborough, Massachusetts plays the puzzle with Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz and host Ayesha Rascoe.
Venezuela: Maduro’s enforcer Cabello still central to power
The ousting of Venezuela's president raised hopes of change — but the politician now controlling the streets shows how little has really shifted.
Amid ICE clashes, New Hampshire bishop urges clergy to prepare their wills
The Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire told priests protesting ICE to get their wills and affairs in order. Some praise the bishop, while other priests say they never signed up to be martyrs.
New York Giants hire John Harbaugh as coach after identifying him as their top choice
Harbaugh joins the Giants 11 days after he was fired by the Baltimore Ravens. The Super Bowl champion is now tasked with turning around a beleaguered franchise.
US launches new retaliatory strike in Syria, killing leader tied to deadly Islamic State ambush
A third round of retaliatory strikes by the U.S. in Syria has resulted in the death of an Al-Qaeda-affiliated leader, said U.S. Central Command.
NASA rolls out Artemis II craft ahead of crewed lunar orbit
Mission Artemis plans to send Americans to the moon for the first time since the Nixon administration.
