‘Prison Slavery’: Alabama Inmates Strike Over Awful Conditions, Unpaid Work

alabama prison 2Prison facilities in Alabama are operating at 200 percent capacity, according to Alabama News, leading in part to the bad conditions that many inmates say they are fed up with. The strikes, which began on May 1, have shut down three different facilities in the state: Elmore Correctional Facility, Holman Correctional Facility, and Staton Correctional Facility, according to the Free Alabama Movement, an organization made up of inmates from various facilities.

The lockdown at Elmore has been lifted as of May 10, Mobile’s WALA-TV reported, after 80 percent of the 300 striking inmates returned to work.

In various pictures uploaded by the Free Alabama Movement, prisoners claim that officers responded to the strikes by not taking out garbage, and leaving dorms and showers without being cleaned. Some pictures purportedly show showers with mold and bacteria growing on them, as well as tarps being used to stop leaky roofs.

 Inmates have also reported being fed small portions of food that are inadequate for their health. One image shows a slice of bread topped by a single slice of lunchmeat, plus what appears to be a portion of mixed vegetables. Another meal consisted of “two slices of white bread, an apple, and an unrecognizable white mixture wrapped in plastic,” according to The Intercept.

In their protest, prisoners are targeting habitual offender laws in Alabama, which levy longer and tougher prison terms— sometimes life without parole­—for people who are convicted of more than one felony. They want lawmakers to abolish sentences of mandatory life without parole.

Repealing the state’s habitual offender statue would make some 8,000 prisoners eligible for parole and ease the issue of overcrowding, the inmates stated in a document outlining their demands.

Additionally, prisoners have criticized the Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, arguing that it “did not abolish slavery completely but preserved the institution for convicted people.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *