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| Violence increasing in crowded prisons |
| By timesdaily.com - AP |
| Published: 06/04/2012 |
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Alabama -- Violence has increased at Alabama's prisons leading to fears that it could get worse as overcrowded jails endure budget cuts. An analysis by The Birmingham News showed that three inmates have been killed in Alabama prisons since the start of the state's financial year in October. By comparison, the prison system had reported at most one homicide in the four previous years. The Department of Corrections counted 1,397 fights and nonsexual assaults from 2010-11, an increase of nearly 400 from the previous year. Besides that increase, assaults leading to serious injury doubled, rising from 47 to 95. Prison officials told the newspaper that the rise in incidents is the result of better record keeping. But Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that represents prisoners, said the situation has gotten worse in the past several years. "I've been hearing from folks that it's gotten impossible to get into honors dorms because everybody and his cousin is trying to get in," Stevenson told the newspaper (http://bit.ly/Lcfie3). Corrections Commissioner Kim Thomas said the department aims to prevent assaults and fights. He acknowledged that violence is an ongoing challenge made more difficult by housing too many prisoners with too few guards. The department's budget for the coming year has been cut $16 million. It could see an additional $35 million in funding reductions. Read More. |
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