The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the state of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Corrections over alleged unconstitutional conditions in the state's prisons for men.
The lawsuit alleges the State fails to provide adequate protection from prisoner-on-prisoner violence and sexual abuse, sanitary conditions and subjects prisoners to excessive force from prison staff.
“The United States Constitution requires Alabama to make sure that its prisons are safe and humane,” Civil Rights Division Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband said. “The Department of Justice conducted a thorough investigation of Alabama’s prisons for men and determined that Alabama violated and is continuing to violate the Constitution because its prisons are riddled with prisoner-on-prisoner and guard-on-prisoner violence. The violations have led to homicides, rapes, and serious injuries. The Department of Justice looks forward to proving its case in an Alabama federal courtroom.”
According to the Department of Justice, the lawsuit arises from a multi-year investigation into allegations of constitutional violations within Alabama's men's prisons.
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