The U.S. Department of Justice is opening an investigation into the conditions at Alabama’s state prisons.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley released a statement yesterday sharing the Justice Department’s letter, and saying he welcomes a federal investigation into the state’s prisons. Bentley says both he and the DoJ share a common goal of wanting to improve the safety of officers and inmates in Alabama’s prisons. He also says past meetings with DoJ officials resulted in major improvements at the state’s Tutwiler Prison for Women.
The Department of Justice letter says they plan to investigate any possible constitutional rights violations in Alabama’s prisons. Specifically, they say they’re looking into whether Alabama adequately protects prisoners from harm and abuse from other inmates and from staff, and provides sanitary, secure and safe living conditions for inmates.
The investigation will be performed by the Department of Justice’s Special Litigation section as well as the U.S. Attorneys for all three districts in Alabama. It’s unclear when the process will begin.
