Judge: Alabama inmates’ mental care ‘horrendously’ lacking

“This ruling means that prisoners with mental illness may finally get the treatment they have been denied for so long,” said inmate lawyer Maria Morris, senior supervising attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery.

“The suffering some of these men and women have endured is excruciating and inhumane,” Morris said.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said the state is studying the decision and will respond.

“The first thing we’ve got to do is get with our attorneys. It’s a lengthy order, contains a lot of information,” Ivey said.

Alabama’s troubled state prison system houses nearly twice the inmates it was designed for. Prison officers and inmates have been killed and injured in a series of violent crimes behind bars.

Thompson in his order noted that severe shortages of mental health and correctional staff, and chronic overcrowding, are “the overarching issues” that lead to inadequate mental health care.

Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said the order will require a, “broader conversation with our state leadership about how we can responsibly address the challenges facing the department.”

The judge acknowledged that the department blames lack of funding, but he said money alone couldn’t make up for such poor treatment and sweeping change is required.

An inmate who testified at the opening of the December trial killed himself just weeks after describing a past suicide attempt and how a prison officer once offered him a razor to kill himself. Jamie Wallace, 24, was found hanged in his cell at the Bullock County prison in December.

The litigation echoes lawsuits in states, including California, South Carolina and Arizona, that led to court orders and settlement agreements to improve conditions or reduce crowding.

An Alabama lawmaker said Tuesday that the decision was expected.

“I can’t say this comes as a surprise to anybody. Some of us have been saying for years that this was coming,” said state Sen. Cam Ward, who has spearheaded prison reform efforts as well as unsuccessful legislation to build new prisons to relieve crowding.

Ward said the state will have to spend more money on prisons to comply with the order.

“We as a legislative body are going to have to deal with the financial consequences,” Ward said.

Kim Chandler, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Judge: Alabama inmates’ mental care ‘horrendously’ lacking

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