Judge: Alabama has been ‘indifferent’ to isolated inmates
A federal judge said Monday that Alabama has been “deliberately indifferent” about monitoring the mental health of state inmates placed in the isolation of segregation cells. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued the ruling days after attorneys for inmates said the suicide rate in state prisons has reached a crisis level. “The court finds that the (Alabama prison system’s) failure to provide adequate periodic mental-health assessments of prisoners in segregation creates a substantial risk of serious harm for those prisoners,” Thompson wrote in the 66-page order. Thompson wrote that prison officials have been “deliberately indifferent with regard to their failure to provide adequate periodic evaluations of mental health to prisoners in segregation.” Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Bob Horton said the department is reviewing the decision. Thompson in 2017 wrote that mental health care in state prisons was “horrendously inadequate” and violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. In his Monday order, Thompson said the failure to adequately monitor inmates in segregation contributes to the unconstitutional conditions. Thompson directed the prison system and attorneys for inmates to confer on how to proceed. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which is representing inmates in the ongoing class-action lawsuit over prison mental health care, praised the decision. “It has been evident for years that ADOC has failed to identify, monitor, and properly care for people who have serious mental illnesses and who develop them in ADOC custody. That systematic failure has led to needless suffering, especially for people in segregation,” said Maria Morris, senior supervising attorney at the SPLC. The advocacy organization said Friday that there have been 13 suicides in 14 months. “People are killing themselves in our prisons because conditions are horrendous,” Southern Poverty Law Center President Richard Cohen said at a news conference with the families of inmates. The prison system said in a response Friday that it was working to address the issue, and said the suicide spike “calls into question the long-term effectiveness of the suicide prevention measures proposed by the SPLC” during the litigation. Republished with permission from the Associated Press
Kay Ivey awards grant to help former inmates get back to work
Felons find themselves in a tough position when they’re finally released prison: they need a job to get back on their feet, but with their criminal record and lack of experience, they’re usually not on the top of the list for a call-back from a potential employer. Which is exactly what Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey hopes to change. On Wednesday, Ivey awarded a $130,870 grant to help former inmates obtain work skills necessary to help them transition back into society and become productive citizens. The grant will provide funds for the Cut Above the Rest program to continue training ex-offenders and other hard-to-place workers for skills in the construction industry. Funds are being directed to the city of Montgomery which administers the program. “Alabama inmates who have completed their sentences or have been paroled should have the opportunity to merge back into society as law-abiding individuals who want to earn an honest living,” Ivey said. “I commend the city of Montgomery and the Cut Above the Rest training program for recognizing this need and providing this service.” The funds will enable the Montgomery-based program to offer live-stream training to locations in Birmingham and Mobile and provide additional resources for more students. During the six-week training, students are given instruction in job safety, construction tools, construction math, operation of heavy equipment and basic employee skills. The co-educational program also helps to place students with employers once they have completed the program. Since its beginning in 2014, more than 100 students have completed the course and 93 went on to take construction jobs. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is administering the grant from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Justice. “This program meets Gov. Ivey’s goals of reducing the prison population and helping Alabamians obtain jobs,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. “ADECA is pleased to be a partner in this cooperative process.”
Robert Bentley awards grant to help Ala. inmates overcome substance abuse dependencies
Gov. Robert Bentley awarded a $210,605 grant to the Alabama Department of Corrections to treat inmates in several correctional facilities with drug dependencies on Tuesday. “So many evils are rooted in illegal and illegally obtained drugs. In recent years, Alabama has seen a significant increase in the number of fatalities caused by opioid abuse, and we must assist those suffering from opioid addiction whenever possible,” Bentley said in a statement. “I support this program as a way to reduce our prison population and to safely release people back into the public, once they have completed their sentence and want to become productive members of society.” The six-month treatment program will be available at seven correctional facilities across the state and will be conducted by trained drug counselors and drug program specialists. The grant is made possible from funds from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Law Enforcement and Traffic Safety Division of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) will be responsible for administering the funds. “This valuable partnership is a major step in helping inmates transition back into society,” ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr. said. “Through this program, inmates who have struggled with drug dependency can take control of their lives and prepare to become responsible citizens once released. Public safety and our communities win when inmates are able to break an addiction.”
State settles claim involving disabled inmates
Alabama has agreed to change how inmates with disabilities are treated and housed to settle part of a broader lawsuit over prison medical care. U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson will hold a Thursday hearing on the proposed settlement filed this week in federal court in Montgomery. In the proposed settlement, the state agreed to make sure inmate housing is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and inmates can access programs and facilities. “This agreement is an important commitment by the Alabama Department of Corrections to address the discrimination and hardship these prisoners have faced for far too long,” said Maria Morris, a Southern Poverty Law Center attorney representing inmates. The lawsuit contended disabled inmates were kept in facilities that couldn’t safely accommodate them and were inappropriately housed with higher security inmates for no reason other than their disabilities. It also claims they didn’t have access to programs and devices, including functioning wheelchairs. During a fire, a wheelchair-using prisoner had to maneuver deeper into the prison to access a ramp to the outside, according to the lawsuit. The settlement agreement noted Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley‘s proposal to build four new prisons to replace existing facilities but said that monitoring of settlement compliance will continue regardless of whether the state builds new prisons. The Alabama Senate could vote on the proposed $800 million bond issue next week. “The Alabama Department of Corrections agrees that the filed settlement charts a sensible and prudent path to addressing ADA compliance issues caused largely by antiquated correctional facilities,” Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said in a statement. “A proposal that is currently before the Alabama Legislature to transform the state’s prison system will allow for the construction of four new state-of-the-art facilities that will comply fully with ADA standards, and will go a long way in helping the department meet the terms of the settlement.” A group of inmates filed a civil lawsuit in 2014 that accused the state of failing to provide basic medical and mental health care to inmates. The remaining claims could go to trial later this year. “While we are pleased to have resolved these claims on behalf of prisoners with disabilities, this case is far from over,” said Lisa Graybill, deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Dunn said the department believes the remaining claims are without merit. “While the settlement only addresses ADA issues, the department believes it is providing constitutionally adequate medical and mental healthcare and services to offenders incarcerated in Alabama prisons,” Dunn said. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Alabama business roundup: Headlines from across state – 2/10/16 edition
Who’s paying $17k to OSHA after a worker accident? What household name is accelerating store closings across the state? How much do inmates cost the state? All of this and more in today’s Alabama Business Roundup: AL.com: Plant agrees to pay $17K to OSHA after Decatur worker dies in accident A Decatur plant has agreed to pay $17,290 after it was cited for four serious safety violations months after one of its workers was killed on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations with a proposed penalty of $24,200 to Independence Tube, which employed 49-year-old Gary “Tim” Timothy Cooper. Cooper was killed at work Oct. 28 when a 6,000-pound steel coil fell on and crushed him. OSHA spokesman Michael D’Aquino said the agreement reached Tuesday with Independence Tube will not change the classification of the violations. “The hazards cited have all been abated, such as revising the procedure for banding coils, providing fall protection, developing procedures to de-energize machinery (for changing the overarm), and installing guards on all horizontal shafts as well as sprocket wheels and chains,” he said. D’Aquino said a serious violation exists when the workplace hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm. Independence Tube President Rick Werner did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At the time of Cooper’s death, the Morgan County Coroner’s Office categorized the incident as an “industrial accident” with no foul play suspected. Birmingham Business Journal: Alabama AG announces home mortgage abuse settlement with HSBC Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange announced Friday a $470 million joint state-federal settlement with mortgage lender and servicer HSBC to address mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses. The settlement provides direct payments to Alabama borrowers for past foreclosure abuses, loan modifications and other relief for borrowers in need of assistance, rigorous mortgage servicing standards, and grants oversight authority to an independent monitor. The settlement includes Alabama and 49 other states, the District of Columbia, t he U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. HSBC to substantially change how it services mortgage loans, handles foreclosures, and ensures the accuracy of information provided in federal bankruptcy court. The terms will prevent past foreclosure abuses, such as robo-signing, improper documentation and lost paperwork. “This agreement provides much-needed relief to eligible Alabama borrowers, and puts a stop to many of the bad practices that have harmed consumers,” Strange said. “Through tough servicing standards, this agreement compels HSBC to abide by more fair procedures.” The agreement’s mortgage servicing terms largely mirrors the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement (NMS) reached in February of 2012 between the federal government, 49 state attorneys general, including Alabama, and the five largest national mortgage servicers. That agreement provided consumers nationwide with more than $50 billion in direct relief, created new servicing standards, and implemented independent oversight. Approximately 1,094 eligible Alabama borrowers whose loans were serviced by HSBC and who lost their home to foreclosure from January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2012, and encountered servicing abuse will be eligible for a payment from the national $59.3 million fund for payments to borrowers. The borrower payment amount will depend on how many borrowers file claims. Eligible borrowers will be contacted by a settlement administrator about how to qualify for payments. The settlement’s consumer protections and standards include Making foreclosure a last resort by first requiring HSBC to evaluate homeowners for other loss mitigation option Restricting foreclosure while the homeowner is being considered for a loan modification Procedures and timelines for reviewing loan modification application Giving homeowners the right to appeal denial Requiring a single point of contact for borrowers seeking information about their loans and maintaining adequate staff to handle calls. AL.com: Sears accelerating store closures, including 3 Kmarts in Alabama Sears Holdings Corp. announced today it will accelerate the closing of unprofitable stores this year after fourth-quarter sales were down 7.1 percent. The company, which also owns Kmart, said the holiday season was challenging as a result of “historically warm weather and intense competition pressuring margins and driving comparable store sales declines, particularly in our apparel and related softlines businesses.” Sears expects total revenues of $7.3 billion and $25.1 billion for the fourth quarter and full-year of 2015, respectively. “Based on this performance, we are taking further actions to accelerate our transformation, which is focused on our Shop Your Way membership program and our Integrated Retail offerings,” Sears Holdings said in an earnings release. Fifty stores, including Kmarts in Florence, Prattville and Dothan, will close as the company looks to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust its asset base and transform its business model. Sears Holdings spokesman Howard Riefs said the Dothan and Florence stores will shut down in mid-March, followed by the Prattville site in mid-April. Liquidation sales are underway now as nearly 200 workers look for jobs within the company or elsewhere. As stores close, Sears will evaluate its cost structure, including optimizing store-level marketing expenditures and overall staffing levels. “We will be taking action to reduce our fixed costs, and to improve our inventory management and gross margin realization,” Sears said. The company, which has reduced its net debt by about $1 billion, will target at least $300 million of other asset sales during the first half of fiscal 2016. Click here for the full earnings report. Kmart closed its only Huntsville store last year on 1401 Memorial Parkway, less than a year after the Sears in Decatur shut down. The company also shuttered the Sears and its auto store at Bel Air Mall in Mobile in 2015. When the stores in Florence, Prattville and Dothan close this spring, there will be 14 Kmarts left in Alabama. Birmingham Business Journal: Inmate Inc.: The costs of corrections in Alabama During Tuesday’s State of the State Address, Gov. Robert Bentley said Alabama would implement a complete transformation of the state’s prison system. This will be accomplished by permanently closing the doors to outdated facilities where maintenance costs
