Ten months after the U.S. Department of Justice said overcrowding in Alabama’s prisons helped create conditions so violent that they violate the Constitution, the problem is getting worse, reports Al.com. The Alabama Department of Corrections announced the partial closure of Holman Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison, because of an inability to safely provide water, electricity, and sewage service due to the hazards in a tunnel that houses the utilities. U.S. Attorney Jay Town, part of the DOJ team negotiating with Alabama officials on how to fix the prison problems, said he didn’t find out about the decision until shortly before a press release went out today. DOJ notified Gov. Kay Ivey in April that it could file a lawsuit against the state under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) because of prison conditions. Since then, Justice Department and state officials have negotiated on ways to fix the prisons outside of court.
Alabama Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said plans to close Holman have been in the works since 2018, but worsening conditions with the facility accelerated that plan in recent weeks. He said the decision to close Holman was an operational matter that, as a general rule, would not involve notifying lawyers involved in negotiations with the state. Dunn announced Thursday that 617 inmates would move from Holman to other state prisons. Death row and the execution chamber will stay at Holman, although death row will move to a different part of the prison.