Alabama prison staffing numbers fell over 12 months
The Alabama prison system, already understaffed and facing a federal court order to boost employment numbers, saw the number of correctional staff decline 4% during the pandemic. The Alabama Department of Corrections had 1,914 officers and supervisors in the quarter that ended June 30, 2021 — a 50% vacancy rate. But that fell to 1,837 at the end of June 30, 2021, boosting the vacancy rate to 52%. The numbers were listed in most recent staffing reports the system is required to file with the federal court. While staff shortages have long been a problem for corrections agencies, the pandemic brought new challenges for systems across the country. In Alabama, that comes as the state faces the dual pressure of a Department of Justice civil lawsuit and a separate court order out of a mental health care lawsuit to boost staffing. Kyle Mays, 36, this year left his job of 11 years at Limestone Correctional Facility because he said the stress of working inside the prison was beginning to take a toll. He took a pay cut to take a job in manufacturing. “It has gotten worse by far worse,” Mays said of conditions inside prisons. At the maximum-security prison where he worked, he said there would be five roving officers trying to supervise a general population of about 1,600 inmates. He said most incidents occur during mealtimes when officers are pulled to the dining area, “because there is no security in the dormitories.” “It’s very dangerous, but it’s a lot more dangerous for the inmates.” Mays said. Kristi Simpson spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Corrections said the department saw a small decline in staffing but said the problem is not unique to the prison system. She said the department could not comment on the staffing situation described at Limestone because of the ongoing litigation. “Public and private organizations across the nation are facing unprecedented workforce shortages and recruitment challenges due to the dynamics of the labor market… More broadly speaking, correctional and law enforcement organizations across the nation are struggling to fill vacant positions due to the challenging/stressful nature of the work and evolving cultural influences,” the department said in a statement. The prison system has used a statewide recruitment campaign, the creation of new security positions, pay raises, and other efforts to boost staffing. “We believe we have made as much progress as was possible with the resources available to us juxtaposed against a global pandemic and unprecedented labor market challenges.” U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson in 2017 ruled that mental health care in prisons was “horrendously inadequate” and said low staffing was a root cause. He ordered the prison system to add as many as 2,000 officers. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
2 inmates killed within a week in state prisons
Two inmates were killed within a week in reported assaults in Alabama prisons, a system that is facing a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit over excessive violence. Kristi Simpson, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Corrections, confirmed the deaths and said they are under investigation. The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office said a 31-year-old inmate died Monday morning after a reported assault at Donaldson Correctional Facility. The Alabama Department of Corrections identified the man as Kenneth Gilchrist. Gilchrist “unfortunately passed away from injuries sustained during an apparent inmate-on-inmate assault with a weapon,” Simpson wrote in an email. The coroner’s office said the assault occurred in the prison’s common area. She said Travis Hutchins, a 34-year-old inmate at Bibb Correctional Facility, died Thursday of injuries from another inmate-on-inmate assault involving a weapon. Both deaths are under investigation by the Alabama Department of Corrections Law Enforcement Services Division, Simpson said. She said the exact causes of death are pending the results of full autopsies. Gilchrist was serving a 25-year sentence for a first-degree burglary conviction. Hutchins was serving a 20-year sentence for a murder conviction. When Hutchins was an inmate at Easterling Correctional Facility in 2016, he filed a lawsuit against the warden, assistant warden, and two correctional officers over injuries he suffered in another assault, al.com reported. The U.S. Department of Justice last year filed a lawsuit against Alabama accusing the state of failing to protect male inmates from inmate-on-inmate violence and excessive force at the hands of prison staff. The lawsuit alleged that conditions in the prison system — which the Justice Department called one of the most understaffed and violent in the country — were so poor that they violated the ban on cruel and unusual punishment and that state officials were “deliberately indifferent” to the problems. The Alabama Department of Corrections has acknowledged problems in state prisons but disputes the Justice Department’s accusations.
Alabama won’t describe nitrogen execution plans for security
The Alabama prison system, citing security reasons, declined to describe the “system” it has built for nitrogen hypoxia executions and gave no timeframe for its use in carrying out death sentences. An Alabama Department of Corrections spokeswoman on Monday said she could not give an estimate for when the state would develop a protocol for the new execution method. The department also declined to describe even in general terms what it has built. “At this time, the ADOC has not produced a nitrogen hypoxia execution protocol. It would be inappropriate to speculate as to when the aforementioned protocol will be produced. Additionally, due to security concerns, the ADOC cannot provide details on the completion of the initial physical build of the nitrogen hypoxia system,” Kristi Simpson, an interim spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Corrections, wrote in an email. The statement was a response to questions from The Associated Press, which asked for a broad description of the “physical build” of the system the state said it has completed — including whether it is a room or an apparatus in the existing death chamber — and an estimated timeframe for completing the protocol. Alabama told a federal judge last week that it has finished construction of a “system” to put condemned inmates to death using nitrogen gas, an execution method authorized by state law but never put into use. “The ADOC has completed the initial physical build on the nitrogen hypoxia system. A safety expert has made a site visit to evaluate the system. As a result of the visit, the ADOC is considering additional health and safety measures,” a lawyer for the state attorney general’s office wrote in the court filing. Alabama in 2018 became the third state — along with Oklahoma and Mississippi — to authorize the untested use of nitrogen gas to execute prisoners. Death would be caused by forcing the inmate to breathe only nitrogen, thereby depriving him or her of oxygen. Lawmakers theorized that death by nitrogen hypoxia could be a simpler and more humane execution method. But critics have likened the untested method to human experimentation since it has never been used. No state has used nitrogen hypoxia to carry out an execution, and no state has developed a protocol for its use, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The information of the construction was disclosed in a court filing involving a lawsuit over the presence of spiritual advisers in the death chamber. Alabama currently carries out executions by lethal injection unless an inmate requests the electric chair. As lethal injection drugs became difficult to obtain, states began looking at alternative ideas for carrying out death sentences including firing squads and gas. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Alabama offering $5 incentive for inmates to get shots
With Alabama trailing the nation in COVID-19 vaccinations, infections rising, and the governor refusing incentives to encourage more people to get shots, state prisons are offering $5 canteen credits to inmates to encourage more inoculations. The Department of Corrections, which said less than half of its more than 24,000 inmates have been vaccinated, is offering the canteen “grab bag” to inmates who get vaccinations and those who’ve already received shots, spokeswoman Kristi Simpson said. Items like snacks, candy, and personal hygiene products typically are offered to inmates in prison stores. “Facility wardens (have) also been authorized to provide other incentives to encourage staff and inmates to receive a vaccination at their respective facilities,” she said in an email to The Associated Press. Nearly all of the latest infections and deaths are among people who have not been vaccinated, health officials have said. Gov. Kay Ivey has opposed incentives to encourage members of the general public to get shots, saying instead that “common sense” should be enough for people to get the free shots. A spokeswoman didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment on the prison incentives. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that only 33.9% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated, the lowest in the nation. Questioned by reporters about what more could be done, Ivey sharpened her tone Thursday, expressing frustration that more people weren’t being vaccinated. “Folks are supposed to have common sense,” she said. “It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down. … I’ve done all I know how to do. I can encourage you to do something, but I can’t make you take care of yourself.” Ivey, who has rejected suggestions that new health precautions may be needed to counter rising illness, did not announce new measures to combat the pandemic, which has killed more than 11,470 people statewide to give Alabama what researchers at Johns Hopkins University say is the nation’s 17th highest death count. Asked about Ivey’s remarks, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday: “I don’t think our role is to place blame.” “But what we can do is provide accurate information to people who are not yet vaccinated about the risks they are incurring not only on themselves but also the people around them,” she said. Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by 858, a surge of 311%. There were 258 new cases per 100,000 people in Alabama over the past two weeks, which was seventh worse nationally. While hospitalizations are far below levels from January when more than 3,000 people were being treated for COVID-19, caseloads are rising sharply and nearly 730 people were being treated Friday. Just 166 were hospitalized with COVID-19 on June 20. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
