Lawyers: Prisons not following suicide prevention plan

Lawyers for Alabama prison inmates have asked a federal judge to force the state to put additional suicide prevention measures in place.

In a Thursday motion to the court, they argued the Department of Corrections has failed to comply with an agreement reached in January after a prisoner killed himself days after testifying in the class-action lawsuit alleging Alabama provides inadequate psychiatric care.

Lawyers for inmates said the state has not fully implemented the agreement “intended to save the lives of ADOC prisoners.”

Bob Horton, spokesman for the state prison system disputed the accusation, saying the department has “vigorously taken action to follow the agreement as ordered by the court.”

He said department lawyers are studying the request.

The judge ordered the parties to appear in a settlement conference Monday.