Prisoner advocacy group demands coronavirus precautions for Alabama’s incarcerated
With the coronavirus spreading quickly across the country, Alabamians for Fair Justice — a broad coalition of advocates supporting reform in Alabama’s criminal justice system — is demanding that state officials ensure the health and safety of people in jails and prisons, and release those people most at risk of suffering serious complications or death from contracting coronavirus (COVID-19). The coalition sent a letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn calling on him to develop evidence-based protocols and proactively plan the prevention and management of a COVID-19 outbreak. According to the letter, “imprisoned and detained people are highly vulnerable to outbreaks of contagious illnesses such as COVID-19. People incarcerated in jails and prisons are housed in close quarters and are often in poor health.” Coupled with the fact state facilities have been deemed overcrowded, incarcerated persons are at an increased risk during a viral outbreak. “Without the active engagement of those who administer these facilities, they have little ability to learn about ongoing public health crises or to take necessary preventative measures if they do manage to learn of them.” The coalition asks the state to: Educate both staff and the people detained in local, state, and federal facilities on the dangers of the virus and how to avoid contracting it; Keep infected staff out of facilities and isolate individuals who have tested positive; avoid lockdowns; Regularly screen and test all individuals in the facility and those who work there; ensure free and accessible phone communication with family members and confidential access to legal counsel; Release elderly and medically fragile people before they contract the disease; release people in pretrial detention who are charged with nonviolent offenses; Limit future pretrial detention by issuing citations rather than arresting and booking people into jail; And approve early release of people who are within six months of their end of sentence date. A full list of Alabamians for Fair Justice coalition members may be viewed here.
Two officers on leave amid investigation into inmate’s death
The Alabama prison system announced Monday that it is investigating the use of force by officers following the recent death of an inmate and that an investigation is ongoing into the death of another prisoner in what has already been a violent year inside state prisons. The Alabama Department of Corrections said it is investigating the alleged use of force that resulted in the death of an inmate at Ventress Correctional Facility. Fifty-five-year-old Michael Smith of Fairfield, died Dec. 5 after being removed from life support following a Nov. 30 incident at the prison. The department released little information about the death, but said two officers were placed on mandatory leave afterward. The department is also investigating the death of another inmate, 48-year-old Willie Leon Scott, who died Dec. 6. The department didn’t give specifics, but said his injuries were the result of an incident Dec. 4 at Holman Correctional Facility. Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said Monday that he is creating an internal task force to examine inmate-on-inmate violence as well as alleged excessive use of force by staff..The prison system said the action is being made because of recent deaths. “My department is taking swift and substantive action to create safer working and living conditions, better ensure policy adherence, and deter unacceptable behavior by both inmates and … staff,” Dunn said in a statement. The Alabamians for Fair Justice, a collection of advocacy groups and individuals, called the state’s reaction “too little too late.” The group said that a “culture of violence” is perpetuated by prison staff. “Once again, the State of Alabama has proven itself grossly inadequate at operating safe, humane prisons. Alabama runs the worst, most violent prisons in the country,” the organization said in a statement. The U.S. Department of Justice in April issued scathing findings that condemned Alabama prisons for high rates of inmate homicides and violence. More than a dozen inmates have been killed in incidents in state prisons since Oct. 1, according to department statistics and news releases. Ten inmates were killed in inmate-on-inmate homicides in a 10-month period between October 2018 and August 2019, according to statistics and news releases from the state prison system. Dunn said last week that it is continuing to investigate the death of Steven Davis, who died after an October altercation with officers at Donaldson Correctional Facility. His mother, Sandy Ray, last week showed a photograph of her son’s battered face to a state criminal justice reform panel created by Gov. Kay Ivey. The department has said officers used force after Davis rushed out of his cell and tried to strike an officer with makeshift weapons. Ray said her son was beaten beyond recognition and that she had to have a closed casket for his funeral. Ray and other family members and advocates for state inmates attended the meeting last week to urge the state to improve conditions in state prisons. Dunn said Monday that he has directed the task force to assess reinforcement training programs and examine the possible use of body cameras by officers. The department said instructors will be giving refresher courses to officers. Ivey’s administration is considering building three large regional prisons. Alabamians for Fair Justice said the solution is not building more prisons, but “locking up fewer Alabamians in these deadly warehouses.” Republished with the Permission of the Associated Press.
Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn honored despite troubles
The head of Alabama’s troubled prison system is being honored with a national award. The department says Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn is being awarded a career achievement award by the Correctional Leaders Association, a national organization for prison administrators. Dunn serves as the group’s regional chair and is a member of its executive committee. He’s been commissioner of Alabama’s badly overcrowded prison system since 2015. Alabama’s prison system is plagued with a series of inmate deaths due to suicide, homicide and drug overdoses. And the Justice Department earlier this year cited the state for unconstitutional conditions including excessive violence. A prison reform group, Alabamians for Fair Justice, criticized Dunn’s award by saying his only solution has been to build new, larger prisons and keeping people locked up. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
