Alabama has one of the highest rates of inmate deaths from COVID-19.
Forty-three inmates and two staff members have died from the coronavirus since the pandemic began. Figures compiled by The Associated Press and the Marshall Project rank Alabama prisons fourth in the U.S. for the number of COVID-19 deaths per 10,000 inmates.
The Southern Poverty Law Center sued Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ron Abernathy for allegedly failing to release information on COVID-19 cases in the county jail. The Sheriff said he will release the data as requested and attributes the situation to a “miscommunication.” A SPLC release said knowing how COVID-19 is spreading within the county jail protects inmates, jail staffers, and the general public from the virus.
The Alabama prisons system has said most deaths, like those outside prison walls, have occurred in inmates with preexisting health conditions.
The Department of Justice is also suing the Alabama Department of Corrections for what it calls “dangerous and unconstitutional” conditions in state prisons.
The Society of Professional Journalists credited the Alabama Public Radio news team for helping to prompt a DOJ investigation into the State’s prisons. Click below for APR’s documentary, “…and justice for all.”
