Mike Cason
Alabama Media Group, Birmingham
ATMORE, Ala. — Three prisoners were injured in an inmate-on-inmate assault involving 11 inmates at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, the Alabama Department of Corrections said in a news release.
Two inmates were taken to a local hospital for treatment of stab wounds, the ADOC said. The injuries were not life-threatening, the news release said. The third inmate had minor injuries and was treated at the prison’s infirmary, the ADOC said.
The ADOC beefed up the prison’s security staff with an emergency response team after the incident, the ADOC said. Eight inmates who were identified as suspects in the assault were moved to different facilities for security reasons, according to the ADOC. The ACOC is not releasing their names and the investigation is ongoing.
The violent incident occurred eight days after the ADOC conducted a joint law enforcement sweep of contraband at Holman. The operation recovered 356 makeshift weapons, 91 grams of meth, 98 grams of marijuana, some cocaine, more than 400 assorted pills, and 16 cell phones, the ADOC said.
356 makeshift weapons, drugs, cellphones seized during Alabama prison raid
More than 300 law enforcement officers descended upon an Alabama prison Thursday morning in a joint operation targeting contraband. The Alabama Department of Corrections led the predawn raid at William C. Holman Correctional Facility beginning about 4:30 a.m. at the maximum-security Atmore lockup, which houses 870 inmates.
Holman is one of the ADOC’s five maximum security prisons for men and is understaffed, as are the state’s prisons overall. Holman has 827 inmates and 53 correctional officers. The prison is required to have 166 officers, the ADOC said.
The Department of Justice alleged in a report released April 2 that the level of violence, sexual abuse, weapons, drugs, extortion and other problems in Alabama’s prisons created conditions that violate the Constitution. The DOJ recommended many changes, including increased staff, and said it could initiate a lawsuit if the state does not respond adequately.
‘I don’t want my son dead’: Alabama prison inmates extort families from behind bars
The U.S. Justice Department’s investigation of Alabama prisons for men uncovered details about prisoners who extort money from other inmates’ families. The Alabama Department of Corrections says its Investigations and Intelligence Division has looked into 18 extortion cases.
In a separate case involving inmates’ health care, the state is under a federal court order to add 2,200 security staff over about three years, which would triple the staff.
The Gov. Kay Ivey administration and state legislators are proposing increased pay and incentive bonuses to strengthen efforts to hire and keep correctional officers.
The ADOC said it will announce other initiatives in a strategic plan it will release in early May. The initiatives will be aimed at reversing long-established negative trends, the ADOC said.
———
©2019 Alabama Media Group, Birmingham