Alabama corrections officials recently reported the first inmate death related to COVID-19. With several prisoners and staff members testing positive for the virus, those inside Alabama prisons worry this is just the tip of the iceberg. Read more.
The Alabama Department of Corrections on Friday reported the first three confirmed cases of COVID-19 within its prisons. One of the diagnosed inmates, a 66-year-old with a terminal illness, died Thursday, but an official cause of death has not yet been determined, the ADOC said in a statement on its website. Read more.
The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles will resume parole hearings May 18 after stopping them last month in response to COVID-19. Advocates say the state should expedite the parole process to protect inmates and alleviate prison crowding. Read more.
MONTGOMERY —The list of companies vying for the state’s $900 million contract to build three large prisons is down to two. Gov. Kay Ivey this week announced a two-week extension of the deadline for submitting responses to the state’s request for proposals. In that announcement, two companies were listed: Alabama Prison Transformation Partners and CoreCivic.
A group of law school faculty members and former prosecutors has written Gov. Kay Ivey urging her to have the state Board of Pardons and Paroles hold expedited hearings to reduce the risk of COVID-19 to Alabama’s prison population. “The Board should prioritize the release, if necessary into 14-day quarantine, of prisoners age 50 and over and those with compromised immune systems,” the letter stated. “Alabama should recognize the parole system as one avenue through which to ameliorate the public-health threat posed by our overcrowded prisons.” Read more.
UPDATED — Stepping up its response to one of its employees’ testing positive for the COVID-19 virus, the Alabama Department of Corrections said Friday its prisons will not take in any “new inmates from county jails for the next 30 days.” Others subject to the moratorium include those who have violated terms of their parole or probation and those ordered back to prison by a court. In a news release, the department said it would “continue to receive inmates with severe medical or mental health conditions, subject to the usual review process by the Department’s Office of Health Services.” It said it would screen those inmates to ensure they have no symptoms of the COVID-19 virus. Read more.
The first confirmed case of COVID-19 has surfaced in the Department of Corrections, the department stated in a news release. The department said the person who tested positive was an administrative employee, not an inmate. Citing privacy and security reasons, the department did not disclose the individual’s name or workplace. “We will closely monitor inmate health at all facilities,” the department stated. “All individuals within the Department who have been in direct contact with the individual who tested positive are now in self-quarantine for a 14-day period." Read more.
MONTGOMERY — A number of criminal justice bills were approved in Alabama House and Senate committees Wednesday, marking progress for Gov. Kay Ivey's endorsed prison reform proposals and others. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — The House on Tuesday passed legislation that would require state inmates who work outside of the Alabama Department of Corrections facilities to wear electronic monitoring devices. Read more.
Alabama lawmakers are working on legislation to require some state inmates who work outside of Alabama Department of Corrections facilities to wear electronic monitoring devices. Read more.
