Families protest prison conditions at Alabama Capitol rally
People with relatives and loved ones in Alabama prisons rallied outside the state Capitol Friday to decry what they described as inhumane conditions behind bars and a parole process that sees few inmates released. “Men are being murdered. Men are overdosing. Men are taking their own lives,” said Eric Buchanon, a former inmate who does prison ministry. “Somebody said, ‘Well, how can we stop people from taking their own lives?’ Well, if you had enough officers operating the prisons, who could monitor these men like they are supposed to, that would help.’” More than 200 people joined the rally outside the Capitol. Tombstones were placed on the white marble steps of the Alabama Capitol to represent the men who died in Alabama prisons from suicides, murders, and overdoses. The rally followed a three-week work strike at many prisons aimed at seeking changes to state sentencing laws and the parole system. Inmates refused to show up for jobs in prison kitchens, janitorial services, and laundries, jobs that keep the prisons functioning but for which the inmates receive no pay. The Alabama Department of Corrections said Friday that two facilities for men continue to have complete work stoppages, and three facilities have partial work stoppages. Inmates and activists have accused the Department of Corrections of using pressure tactics in an attempt to end the demonstration. Officials said the reduced rations and the lack of visits were the result of a prisoner labor shortage. At the Capitol rally, Sandy Ray carried a photo of the battered face of her son, Steven Davis, who died in 2019 after an altercation with corrections officers at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility where he was incarcerated. “It’s about the things they are doing to human beings,” Ray said about her continued fight for changes in the prison system. She said it’s time for state officials to do the “right thing that they should have been doing all these years.” “If you are going to stay in office, how can you sleep at night knowing (inmates) are sleeping on floors with rats running across them? Roaches are being served with food,” Ray said. The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Alabama over the conditions in its 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 case is slated for trial in 2024. Alabama officials have acknowledged problems but deny that the living conditions violate constitutional standards. Inmates and family members say that conditions have worsened in recent years despite the attention on the system. The rate of paroles has plummeted in recent years, according to state statistics. The state parole board this week granted parole to just six inmates of the 58 who had hearings, according to a news release Alabama faces a separate court order to add as many as 2,000 officers to man understaffed prisons but has been unable to fill the positions. Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm told a legislative committee this summer that the department has 1,879 officers and 541 vacancies out of 2,420 budgeted positions. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Abbott says agreement reached to reopen baby formula plant
Baby formula maker Abbott said Monday it has reached an agreement with U.S. health regulators to restart production at its largest domestic factory, though it will be well over a month before any new products ship from the site to help alleviate the national shortage facing parents. Abbott did not immediately detail the terms of the agreement with the Food and Drug Administration, which has been investigating safety concerns at the Sturgis, Michigan, plant since early this year. The consent decree amounts to a legally binding agreement between the FDA and the company on the steps needed to reopen the factory. An FDA spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the announcement Monday evening. After production resumes, Abbott said it will take between six-to-eight weeks before new products begin arriving in stores. The company didn’t set a timeline to restart production. The FDA is expected to announce additional steps Monday to allow more foreign imports into the U.S. to address the supply problems. It comes as the administration of President Joe Biden faces intense pressure to do more to ease the shortage that has left many parents hunting for formula online or at food banks. Abbott’s plant came under scrutiny early this year after the FDA began investigating four bacterial infections among infants who consumed powdered formula from the plant. Two of the babies died. In February, the company halted production and recalled several brands of powdered formula, squeezing supplies that had already been tightened by supply chain disruptions and stockpiling during COVID-19. The shortage has led retailers like CVS and Walgreen’s to limit how many containers customers can purchase per visit. Outrage over the issue has quickly snowballed and handed Republicans a fresh talking point to use against Biden ahead of November’s midterm elections. Abbott is one of just four companies that produce roughly 90% of U.S. formula, and its brands account for nearly half that market. After a six-week inspection, FDA investigators published a list of problems in March, including lax safety and sanitary standards and a history of bacterial contamination in several parts of the plant. Chicago-based Abbott has emphasized that its products have not been directly linked to the bacterial infections in children. Samples of the bacteria found at its plant did not match the strains collected from the babies by federal investigators. The company has repeatedly stated it is ready to resume manufacturing, pending an FDA decision. Former FDA officials say fixing the type of problems uncovered at Abbott’s plant takes time, and infant formula facilities receive more scrutiny than other food facilities. Companies need to exhaustively clean the facility and equipment, retrain staff, and repeatedly test and document that there is no contamination. On Monday, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf told ABC News that an announcement was forthcoming about importing baby formula from abroad. The key issue is making sure the instructions for the formula are in languages that mothers and caregivers can understand, he noted. Pediatricians say baby formulas produced in Canada and Europe are roughly equivalent to those in the U.S. But traditionally, 98% of the infant formula supply in the U.S. is made domestically. Companies seeking to enter the U.S. face several major hurdles, including rigorous research and manufacturing standards imposed by the FDA. San Diego father Steven Davis has faced heart-wrenching challenges finding formula for his medical fragile daughter, who was on an Abbott formula but has had to switch with the recall and subsequent shortages in other brands. Zoie Davis was born 19 months ago with no kidneys, a rare, life-threatening condition that requires dialysis and a feeding tube until she weighs enough for a kidney transplant. She’s four pounds shy of that milestone, said Davis, a mortgage lender and his daughter’s caretaker. “Her life is dependent on her weight gain,” he said. Davis said he used an organic brand from overseas until costs and customs hurdles made that too difficult. Friends and strangers from out of state have sent him other brands, but each time she switches requires more blood tests and monitoring, Davis said. Despite her challenges, Zoie is walking, talking, and “doing pretty good” on other developmental milestones, Davis said. “She’s a shining light in my life,” he said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Alabama asks judge to dismiss federal prison lawsuit
Alabama is asking a judge to dismiss a Justice Department lawsuit over state prison conditions, arguing the incidents of violence cited in the case do not rise to the level of a constitutional violation. In a Monday court filing, an attorney for Alabama argued the federal lawsuit makes sweeping generalizations about the use of excessive force by officers as well as inmate-on-inmate violence. The state also argued that another ongoing court case is already addressing staffing concerns raised in the lawsuit. “Plaintiff’s isolated examples of inmate-on-inmate violence fail to suggest an egregious or flagrant constitutional violation,” a lawyer for the state wrote in the court filing. In seeking to dismiss the case, Alabama argued that the existence of inmate-on-inmate violence does not automatically represent a constitutional violation. The court filing cited incidents where an inmate was killed in a dorm and another where an inmate was seriously burned after having microwaved baby oil and coffee grounds poured on his face and body. “While these certainly constitute serious allegations, Plaintiff does not specifically allege that anyone associated with the state acted or failed to act in a manner that caused these alleged attacks,” a lawyer for the state wrote. The state also argued that excessive force claims require a showing that officials applied force maliciously and sadistically for the very purpose of causing harm. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Alabama in December, claiming the state is failing to protect male prisoners from inmate-on-inmate violence and excessive force at the hands of prison staff. The assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Eric Dreiband, said in a statement that Alabama’s prisons “are riddled with prisoner-on-prisoner and guard-on-prisoner violence.” The lawsuit came after two federal reports detailing incidents in state lockups. A July report, in an apparent reference to the death of inmate Steven Davis, said that officers “continued to strike the prisoner after he dropped any weapons and posed no threat.” In another, federal investigators alleged a prison guard beat a handcuffed prisoner in a medical unit while shouting, “I am the reaper of death, now say my name!” The Justice Department lawsuit also raised concerns about chronically understaffed prisons. The state responded that a federal judge in an ongoing lawsuit over mental health care has already ordered the state to increase staff. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
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.
