By Ryan Fatica
Prisoners across Alabama launched a coordinated work stoppage Monday, refusing to attend their work assignments and essentially shutting down normal operations of the prison system in the state.
Although the exact number of prisoners on strike is unknown, an outside organizer with prisoner support group Both Sides of the Walls estimates that about 80% of Alabama prisoners have participated in the strike. On Wednesday, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) admitted that strikes were occurring at “most major male facilities.” There are approximately 16,000 prisoners assigned to major male facilities in Alabama.
The inhumane conditions in Alabama prisons have been extensively documented, including in a 2019 Department of Justice report that found that the ADOC “does not reasonably protect prisoners from rampant violence” and sexual abuse, and that conditions in Alabama prisons “violate the Constitution.”
[Photo by Zariya Williams]
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