Alabama Department of Corrections

Inmate found dead in Bibb Correctional Facility

A 26-year-old Huntsville man was pronounced dead at the Bibb Correctional Facility on Nov. 11, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections. Correctional officers found inmate Dewayne Foxx at around 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 11 lying on his side in his bed with no visible injuries, but he appeared to have vomited on himself, according … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 20, 2019

Gov. Ivey awards grants for prison programs

Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded two grants to the Alabama Department of Corrections for programs that provide treatment for drug addiction and increase safety. A $495,456 grant will provide a drug treatment program conducted at seven prisons in the state. The program includes education, counseling and urinalysis testing in order to reduce recidivism rates and … Continued

November 20, 2019

Equal Justice Initiative report: Alabama prisons deadliest in nation despite funding increases

So far this year, 13 Alabama inmates have been murdered, which was twice as many as were killed during the entire ten-year period between 1999 and 2009, making the state’s prisons the most dangerous in the nation, according to an Alabama nonprofit. The Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal services for inmates, released the … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 19, 2019

NPR covers Alabama’s dangerous prisons, state announces prison commissioner receives award

Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn received a “National Outstanding Service” award, the department announced Thursday, the same day a nationally-syndicated radio program broadcast live from Birmingham about the state’s broken prison system. Dunn has been selected for the 2019 Michael Francke Career Achievement Award by the Correctional Leaders Association (CLA). Kevin Kemph, executive … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 15, 2019

Twenty Alabama prisoners killed this year

Thursday, Alabamians for Fair Justice released a statement critical of Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn’s tenure in charge of the state’s prisons. “Under Commissioner Dunn’s leadership, Alabama’s prison system is in a constitutional crisis,” the activist group claimed. “There have been at least 20 verified deaths due to homicide, suicide or overdose in … Continued

Brandon Moseley

November 15, 2019

Criminal justice reform advocates urge state officials to act

Dena Dickerson is worried that Alabama officials won’t make the hard decisions needed to fix the state’s broken prison system, and that the people who can help inform those decisions aren’t being listened to. People like herself. In 2002 at the age of 23 Dickerson was sentenced to serve 114 years in Alabama prisons, convicted … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 6, 2019

Inmate dies at Bullock prison, fourth inmate death in October

Investigators are trying to determine how an inmate at the Bullock County Correctional Facility in Union Springs died on Oct. 6. His death is the fourth inmate death in state prisons during October. Marcus Green, 34, of Birmingham was found by correctional officers lying in his bed and unresponsive, according to a press release from … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 1, 2019

U.S. Supreme Court won’t revisit cases of six Alabama death row inmates

Six Alabama inmates awaiting their executions won’t have their cases reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Two of those inmates were convicted for the murders of police officers, and another was sentenced to die after being convicted for shooting to death his pregnant wife, killing both her and the unborn child. Alabama Attorney Steve Marshall … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

October 11, 2019

Alabama prisoner dies after correctional officers “apply physical measures”

An inmate at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer died Saturday after correctional officers “applied physical measures” to the inmate on Friday, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections. Steven Davis, 35, of Graysville was pronounced dead at a local hospital on Saturday, according to a press release on Monday from the Alabama … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

October 8, 2019

Opinion

Alabama prison population is on the rise again

By Alabamians for Fair Justice Articles like this and this cite data that seems to indicate Alabama prisons are on the right track. It’s true, the state decreased the prison populations through 2017, the result of a concerted, bipartisan effort that resulted in the 2015 Justice Reinvestment Act. While we are glad to see media … Continued

Fair Justice

October 2, 2019