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| Tutwiler inmate claims DOC officers harrassed her after testimony |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/20/2004 |
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An inmate at Tutwiler prison says she was threatened, harassed and assaulted by corrections officers before and after her testimony to a federal court judge during his tour of the women's prison. Rosie Lee Murphy, 22, also claims there have been instances of sexual misconduct between an inmate and a correction officer. Murphy, who has had 14 disciplinary reports in less than a year at the prison, listed the allegations against the Alabama Department of Corrections in a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Myron Thompson after he toured the institution and heard from some inmates on July 21. Thompson was evaluating the prison before deciding whether to approve a settlement in a lawsuit regarding the living and medical conditions at Tutwiler. Thompson issued an order after reading Murphy's 7-page letter, demanding an investigation of Murphy's claims by attorneys representing Corrections and the inmates. "In this letter, Murphy not only reiterates claims she presented to the court through her testimony ... but she contends that she was retaliated against by a prison employee for testifying," Thompson stated in his order. After hearing inmates tell about being mistreated and taunted by Alabama Department of Correction officers, Thompson said he was "concerned" about the way the staff handled prisoner problems. The judge has yet to rule on the settlement. Murphy's letter, containing spelling errors, reads in part, "Before and after I arrived in the courtroom (chapel) I was threating, harass, and assaulted by ADOC lieutenant, sargeant, and others." "Correctional officers call us everything except a child of God. They always abuse us," continues Murphy, who is serving a three-year sentence for forgery and related charges. She contends that at least one corrections officer has had sexual relations with an inmate, while others verbally and physically abuse the prisoners. Murphy, in her letter, said she wanted to tell Thompson about the problems in person, but that DOC attorneys kept objecting during her testimony. DOC spokesman Brian Corbett said Thursday that state attorneys have looked into claims in the letter, but "at this point, they have not found anything to justify the allegations made by inmate Murphy." He added that any allegations of sexual misconduct by corrections officers are investigated thoroughly. |
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