By Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – The Southern Center for Human Rights is asking a Montgomery judge to enforce his ruling ordering the release of records from an Alabama Department of Corrections investigation into the death of inmate Farron Barksdale.
Circuit Judge Eugene Reese issued an Oct. 6 decision saying corrections officials should immediately release its records in Barksdale's death, which occurred after he was found unconscious in his cell in August 2007.
The inmate was three days into serving a life sentence for killing two Athens police officers in 2004. An autopsy report said Barksdale, 32, died of pneumonia and complications from hypothermia and a blood-clotting problem. There were bruises on his upper body and hips.
Prison Commissioner Richard Allen said last week that the department is disputing Reese's ruling and lawyers asked him not to allow any release of records until the case is decided on appeal.
The department says releasing the information "would subject inmates and correctional staff to various levels of harm."
But attorneys for the Atlanta-based law center filed a motion Monday saying the department has sufficient latitude because Reese's order allows it to redact sensitive information that it believes could threaten a person or "jeopardize a pending criminal investigation."
They point to Montgomery County District Attorney Ellen Brooks' announcement last week that no criminal charges would be filed in Barksdale's death.
"The investigation into the death of Mr. Barksdale one of the primary reasons the defendant (Corrections Department) objected to the release of information in this litigation is now over," the center said in its motion.
Center attorney Sarah Geraghty said the case is not just about Barksdale.
"It's about the department's refusal to release any records regarding any incident that happens in any Department of Corrections facility," she said. "That's the policy we're challenging here."
Geraghty said the only records provided by the department were Barksdale's medical records.
"The department is required to report when a prisoner dies in custody, and we've not been allowed to see that report, any witness statements or any information at all," she said.
Department spokesman Brian Corbett said the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation but they will "do whatever the court orders."