Families describe deaths, violence in Alabama prisons as they push for change

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Chase Mathis told prison guards he was being threatened by other inmates and feared for his life. But within hours of being moved to an adjacent prison, he was dead.

Mathis died June 4, 2024, after being placed in general population instead of a cell for his own protection, his father said. Tim Mathis said he wants answers. He is concerned his 31-year-old son didn’t die by accidental overdose but by a “hot shot” — a lethal dose of drugs administered against his will.

“Behind those walls people are dying every day, not just from violence and neglect but from the deliberate indifference of the system that treats them like trash,” Mathis said Wednesday during a rally at the Alabama Capitol. His son was serving a 15-year sentence for manslaughter after his friend was killed in a car accident when Chase Mathis was driving while intoxicated.

Family members of people incarcerated in Alabama prisons packed a Wednesday meeting of the Legislative Prison Committee and then held a rally on the steps of the Capitol. They said they hope a new documentary on the prison system, now airing on HBO, will draw fresh attention to the longstanding problems in state lockups. The documentary heavily relied on footage shot by inmates on cellphones.

Family members carried photos of loved ones who have died in prison and photos of state officials with the caption “Blood On Your Hands.” They described assaults, rapes, extortions, deaths and overdoses behind bars. They also expressed frustration over the state’s lack of progress in improving conditions.

Rodreshia Russaw, executive director of The Ordinary People Society, a nonprofit focused on helping formerly incarcerated people, said the stories are “just the surface” of the problem.

“We have lost a lot of lives. There is a lot of blood that has been shed,” Russaw said.

The low staffing, a low parole rate and the use of pandemic funds to build its new supersized prison.

Eddie Burkhalter, a researcher at the nonprofit law and justice center, Alabama Appleseed, said the prison system last year had 277 deaths including at least 12 homicides. Burkhalter said Alabama’s overall prison mortality rate in 2023 was five times the national rate across state prisons.

During the legislative meeting, the state prisons chief described the department’s effort to improve conditions.

Corrections Commissioner John Hamm told lawmakers during the committee meeting that construction is 75% complete on the state’s new 4,000-bed mega-prison. He said the state is also making progress on staffing, which he described as key to providing better conditions.

“Everything hinges around correction officer staffing,” Hamm said.

But Hamm told lawmakers that they should be aware that the number of inmates in state prisons “has gone up significantly, and we are on an upward trajectory.”

The number of state inmates rose from 20,904 in 2023 to 21,803 inmates this summer.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in 2020 against Alabama arguing that conditions in the prison system — which the Justice Department called one of the most understaffed and violent in the country — are so poor that the state is violating the ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Rep. Chris England said after the meeting, “system is broken from beginning to end.”

“You can’t make the argument that we haven’t improved at all,” England said. “Abuse is up. Drug overdoses are up. Corruption is up.”

Sandy Ray’s son, Steven Davis, died in 2019 after being hit by officers during an altercation at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility. Her son’s death and Ray’s quest for answers were heavily featured in the “The Alabama Solution” documentary.

The state cleared the officers of wrongdoing but agreed to pay $250,000 to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit. Ray said Wednesday that she continues to hope for more accountability, including that the state will reopen the investigation.

“Why do they continue to let this person hurt our loved ones,” Ray said Wednesday.