A person behind bars. A federal judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Corrections over allegations of sexual assault and sexual abuse at the state's only women's prison. (Getty Images)
A federal judge Thursday dismissed a consent decree between the state and the U.S. Department of Justice over sexual abuse at Julia Tutwiler Prison in Wetumpka.
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson dismissed the case, filed in 2015, after the state and the DOJ reached an agreement to terminate the remaining issues in the consent decree.
“Over the past decade, the Alabama Department of Corrections has made real, measurable progress in strengthening oversight and safety at Tutwiler, and this judgment reflects that work,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement.
Justice Department officials filed the lawsuit in May 2015 after the agency’s civil rights division released a scathing report on sexual abuse and harassment of women incarcerated at Tutwiler.
“Women prisoners at Tutwiler suffer serious harm from sexual abuse and sexual harassment by staff, including rape, fondling, voyeurism, and sexually explicit verbal abuse,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also said that the ADOC did not have system for report sexual abuse and sexual harassment and that staff working at the facility “retaliate against women who attempt to report sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Women prisoners who attempt to report such abuse are routinely placed in segregation and face threats of physical assault by staff.”
The state and the DOJ negotiated the termination of 38 of the 44 provisions in the 2015 consent decree in September 2024.
This included requirements related to training staff to prevent, detect and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment at the facility, the management of cameras and developing gender-responsive policies and procedures to help ensure that women incarcerated at the facility are protected from harm.
The order left in place other provisions regarding staffing, including a requirement for ADOC to have a coordinator to address sexual abuse and harassment and a compliance manager who will work full-time for 40 hours each week whose sole responsibility will be to handle problems related to sexual abuse and harassment.
The Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women was opened in 1942 and is the oldest extant correctional facility in the state. As of April, it housed 640 women in a facility designed for 417.
From Alabama Reflector Post Url: Visit
Author: Ralph Chapoco