Federal judge orders Alabama prison system to “start hiring”

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson is setting a deadline of 2025 for Alabama’s troubled prison system to boost employment. This is the same judge who ruled mental health care in Alabama prisons was "horrendously inadequate." The court order includes the requirement that multiple changes be made. The scathing 600-page opinion focused on the prison system's lack of progress in meeting an earlier directive to boost staffing. The judge said close to 30 more prisoners have died by suicide since his initial ruling in 2017. Attorneys for inmates say they are reviewing the ruling. The Southern Poverty Law Center said it’s gratified by the time and care the judge took. The judgment also requires the state meet yearly hiring benchmarks until the 2025 deadline.