Authorities say three Alabama correctional officers who worked at two different prisons have been arrested on corruption charges. The Department of Corrections says two officers from the Ventress Correctional Facility in Clayton are charged with using their jobs for personal gain. Both are accused of soliciting contraband items to inmates for money. The department says in a statement that another…
Attorneys for inmates are asking a federal judge to find the Alabama prison system in contempt of a court order to boost prison mental health staffing. Lawyers wrote in a Thursday motion that the Department of Corrections is “woefully short” of required staffing levels. Attorneys for inmates wrote that a court order requires 263 full time equivalent mental-health positions. The…
Alabama has executed a man who killed his employer at a traveling carnival decades ago and later dropped appeals and asked for the death sentence to be carried out. Authorities say 50-year-old Michael Wayne Eggers was pronounced dead at 7:29 p.m. CDT Thursday after an injection at the state prison in Atmore. Eggers was sentenced to death for his conviction…
Alabama lawmakers have approved an $85 million increase for the state’s prison system as they try to comply with a federal court order to improve mental health care for inmates. The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved $30 million for the Department of Corrections before September and a $55 million boost in next year’s general fund budget. U.S. District Judge…
The Bullock Correctional Facility in Union Springs was placed on lockdown after an inmate was stabbed and killed Monday afternoon. Corrections officials say 41-year-old James Edward Rogers was stabbed with makeshift knives in the facility’s dorm around 2 p.m. He was taken to the the facility’s hospital where he later died. Prison officials detained 19-year-old Paul Johnson and 35-year-old Christopher…
Governor Bentley’s Proposal to consolidate 14 of Alabama’s 16 prisons into four mega prisons has some County officials worried about how the proposed initiative could effect their economy. Elmore and Bullock County officials spoke out about what the initiative could mean for their towns. Bullock County Commissioner Johnny Adams says that if Governor Bentley’s proposed prison initiative is passed, and the Bullock…
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley used his State of the State address to push for his $800 million prison construction plan, saying overcrowding and understaffing had proven a “deadly combination” within prison walls. The governor is proposing an $800 million bond issue to build four new prisons and close most existing facilities. Speaking on the first day of the legislative session…
Alabama prisons have agreed to put new suicide prevention measures in place after an inmate killed himself days after testifying that there’s inadequate psychiatric care in state prisons. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson on Thursday approved the temporary agreement between the Alabama Department of Corrections and attorneys for inmates. The prison system agreed to keep a licensed mental health professional…
Inmates in an Alabama prison are taking part in the “mannequin challenge” sweeping the country, using an illegal cellphone. Al.com reports that the men wearing prisoner clothing labeled Alabama Department of Corrections shot a nearly minute-long video of themselves freezing in various positions. They can be seen staging a fight, doing push-ups, reading on their cots and praying, both Christians…
An appellate court has refused to stop the execution of Alabama inmate Tommy Arthur. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied Arthur’s request for a stay of execution. The court, in a split decision, upheld a federal judge’s decision that dismissed Arthur’s lawsuit challenging Alabama’s death penalty procedure as unconstitutional. Arthur is scheduled to be executed by…
