MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama Department of Corrections announced on Tuesday that the tenth person in ADOC custody has died after testing positive for COVID-19.
Dillon Nettles, Policy Analyst, ACLU of Alabama said:
“The escalating numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths among individuals in ADOC custody are deeply troubling yet they come as no surprise to those of us who have been calling since April for ADOC to provide mass testing and begin mitigating the spread by releasing vulnerable individuals from custody. Commissioner Dunn and the Alabama Department of Corrections continue to demonstrate negligence or indifference in the face of a public health crisis that knows no bounds.
Just last week, the ACLU and Prison Policy Initiative released a Nationwide report grading state responses to this crisis in correctional facilities. Alabama’s final grade: an F+. This took into consideration several factors including the regularity of testing, PPE equipment provided to incarcerated individuals and staff, and releases. ADOC should immediately expedite mass testing and release medically vulnerable individuals that are at-risk rather than hiding from the very real threat that this pandemic continues to pose to incarcerated people and prison staff.”
