AL Political Reporter: “Charles Hall, 34, was found unresponsive by prison staff at Bullock Correctional Facility on Wednesday and died from an apparent suicide, ADOC spokeswoman Kristi Simpson confirmed to APR on Friday. His death was still under investigation.
That same day, DeVarrieo Shepherd, 33, was also found unresponsive in a segregation cell at Donaldson Correctional Facility. He was taken to the prison’s infirmary but was pronounced dead, Simpson said. His death is being investigated by ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division.
Tyrone Billups, 39, died Monday following injuries after an apparent assault from another incarcerated person at Fountain Correctional Facility, Simpson said in a message to APR on Wednesday. …
The rash of deaths comes as the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the state is ongoing. The DOJ alleges the state fails to protect prisoners from violence, death, unsafe and unsanitary conditions, and if the state fails to adequately respond to the federal government’s concerns, the suit could result in court-ordered federal oversight of Alabama’s prison system.
The DOJ’s complaint also states that ADOC hasn’t been able to control contraband, which is resulting in mounting overdose deaths, despite no visits by outsiders being allowed in prisons amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Although ADOC has not allowed visitors into Alabama’s Prisons for Men since March 2020 pursuant to COVID-19 restrictions, prisoners continue to have easy access to drugs and other illegal contraband,” the complaint reads”