Donaldson Correctional Facility in unincorporated Jefferson County
A federal judge ruled Monday the Alabama prison system has failed to monitor the mental health of prisoners isolated in segregation cells, a failure to which the Alabama Department of Corrections is “deliberately indifferent,” according to the order.
“[I]n light of the significant number of wholly unanticipated suicides in ADOC segregation units, by individuals who were not on the mental-health caseload, defendants’ contention that ‘the system works’ is astonishing,” the order from U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson reads. The 66-page decision follows calls last week from the Southern Poverty Law Center asking Gov. Kay Ivey and state lawmakers to address the crisis in state prisons.
“We are only sorry ADOC didn’t do anything to remedy the situation during the last year and a half, as hundreds or thousands of men and women suffered in ADOC segregation units, and ultimately as 13 people took their own lives,” a statement from the SPLC says.
ADOC in 2017 was found to have violated the Constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of the Eighth Amendment. That ruling said “persistent and severe shortages” of mental health care staff contributed to the prison system’s failings, calling the mental health care system there “horrendously inadequate.” A 2014 lawsuit filed by the SPLC notes several examples where prison staff failed to give adequate health and medical care to inmates. In addition, according to the lawsuit, prisoners were placed under “do not resuscitate” or “allow natural death” orders without their consent or knowledge. Prisoners with serious mental health issues were routinely kept in solitary confinement and given little or no mental health care.
In one case, a lieutenant slammed a handcuffed prisoner on a concrete floor several times, knocking him unconscious and leaving him unable to breathe. He required hospitalization.
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Across Alabama, state inmates are getting GED certificates, learning to fix cars, and even how to code. As Alabama faces mounting pressure to reform its prison system, many state leaders want to increase funding for these educational programs.
There are many alternatives to prison including drug courts, veterans courts and community corrections. But a new report says in many cases these alternatives hinder rather than help those they are supposed to serve.
The 2020 legislative session begins Tuesday and prisons are at the top of the agenda. Lawmakers are likely to consider proposals presented last week by Governor Kay Ivey's Study Group on Criminal Justice Policy.
Prisons will be a top issue in the upcoming legislative session. The state Department of Corrections presented its budget request Thursday, along with the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles.
