澳彩开奖

It鈥檚 a prison system in crisis 鈥� the result of decades of harsh sentencing practices coupled with a lack of will on the part of lawmakers to pay the costs of maintaining this highly destructive system of mass incarceration.

Now, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicated it might sue the state, as well, charging that conditions in its prisons 鈥� which are at 160 percent of their capacity 鈥� violate the Eighth Amendment鈥檚 prohibition against 鈥渃ruel and unusual punishments.鈥�

On April 3, the DOJ released a blistering 56-report based on its own two-and-a-half year investigation, which was begun during the Obama administration. The findings 鈥�,鈥� The New York Times wrote in an editorial.

The DOJ describes the system as plagued by 鈥渞ampant violence,鈥� 鈥渦nchecked extortion,鈥� and 鈥渟evere and widespread sexual abuse鈥� 鈥� something we鈥檝e known all along. Prisoners are, in fact, subjected to 鈥渁 high level of violence that is .鈥�

The DOJ found 鈥渉undreds of grave injuries to prisoners that were inflicted out of the sight of ADOC correctional officers,鈥� and reviewed more than 600 recent sexual assault incident reports. One warden told investigators that staffing levels are 鈥渂arbaric鈥� and that 鈥渂oth prisoners and correctional officers in Alabama鈥檚 prisons are in extreme danger.鈥� and strangled to death. Others died as the result of stabbings, beatings, and the ingestion of toxic synthetic drugs.

The system is considered to be the , with a homicide rate more than 600 percent greater than the national average from 2001 to 2014; 鈥�.鈥� Correctional officers not only fail to protect prisoners from , they 鈥� illegally stripping and beating prisoners while they are handcuffed and shackled.

It should come as no surprise that the system is plagued by an and drug overdoses.

鈥淭he Department of Justice鈥檚 findings letter describes an enormous breadth of violent conditions in Alabama prisons that amount to nothing less than torture,鈥� said Ebony Howard, an 澳彩开奖 senior supervising attorney who works on our prison case.

Our case describes a medical and mental health care system that endangers lives and causes untold suffering through its denial of essential medical care.

Serious illnesses and injuries frequently go untreated. Psychiatric medication is often stopped or changed without any discussion between psychiatrist and patient. Numerous prisoners have been placed under 鈥淒o Not Resuscitate鈥� or 鈥淎llow Natural Death鈥� orders without their consent or even their knowledge. Blind prisoners are routinely asked to sign documents they can鈥檛 read. And people with mental illness are sometimes simply locked away in solitary confinement with little or no treatment.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) have stood by and allowed these atrocities to worsen. They recently proposed a patchwork of solutions to address the crisis. But the DOJ and current ADOC employees have expressed concern that sparse funding and insufficient efforts from public officials won鈥檛 help. 鈥淯ntil major fundamental changes take place in our sentencing and housing of these men it will only continue to get worse,鈥� wrote one correctional officer. 鈥溾��

The state has yet to come up with an acceptable remedy to address what the federal judge in our case wrote was 鈥渉orrendously inadequate鈥� mental health care. 聽

to the DOJ鈥檚 findings, we sent a letter to Governor Ivey and ADOC Commissioner Jeff Dunn with a proposal to address this crisis. Our recommendations include strategic prison construction incorporating essential medical and mental health facilities, a large increase in staff, and sentencing and parole reform to reduce the incarcerated population.

A criminal conviction does not open the door for the state to engage in cruelty and to rob a person of basic human dignity. Whenever Alabama determines a person must be incarcerated, it must accept the legal 鈥� and moral 鈥� responsibility.

We鈥檝e been fighting to protect the rights of the incarcerated community for almost 50 years, both through advocacy initiatives and in the courts. And we will continue to fight for justice and to hold the ADOC accountable for the well-being and safety of the people in its care.聽

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