DOJ: Alabama prisons remain violent and deadly

The U.S. Department of Justice says conditions in Alabama prisons have not improved since the federal government warned the state of unconstitutional conditions three years ago. The observations are part of an updated DOJ complaint in the agency’s ongoing lawsuit against Alabama over prison conditions. Justice Department officials say violence continues in prisons that are overcrowded and understaffed. The lawsuit accuses the state of operating prisons where conditions are so poor that they violate the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The state is disputing the Justice Department's allegations. Alabama Public Radio won its third national Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists for a six month investigation of the state’s prisons that helped prompt a DOJ probe into conditions there. Click below to hear this program again.