Independent journalist Beth Shelburne partnered with the Alabama Reflector to investigate the state’s runaway legal spending in defending its prison system. Shelburne obtained and examined years of state finance data connected to civil litigation against prison staff, discovering that the state’s legal spending has surpassed $57 million since 2020. The resulting four-part series revealed an extraordinary number of excessive force lawsuits ending in paid settlements – close to 100 since 2020, many containing harrowing accounts of brutal assaults by prison guards resulting in serious injury and death. At least 10 officers named in assaults still work for the agency and five have been promoted. Additionally, Shelburne reported that private attorneys hired through no-bid contracts to defend the officers collected the lion’s share of available state liability funds.
Alabama has settled 100 cases of excessive force in prisons since 2020, grantee finds
