Montgomery, Alaa.. 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 transferred to a nearby prison, he died.
Mathis died on June 4, 2024, after he was placed in a general cell instead of a jail cell for his own protection, his father said. Tim Mattis said he wants answers. He is concerned that his 31-year-old son died not from an accidental overdose but from a “hot shot” – a lethal dose of drugs given against his will.
“Behind those walls people die every day, not just from violence and neglect but from the deliberate indifference of a system that treats them like trash,” Mattis said Wednesday during a rally at the Alabama Capitol. His son was serving a 15-year prison sentence for manslaughter after his friend was killed in a car accident when Chase Mathis was driving drunk.
Family members of people incarcerated in Alabama prisons gathered for a meeting Wednesday of the Legislative Prisons Committee and then held a rally on the steps of the Capitol. They said they were hoping for something new A documentary about the prison systemnow airing on HBO, will draw renewed attention to long-standing problems in government detention operations. The documentary relied heavily on footage filmed by inmates on cell phones.
Family members carried photos of loved ones who died in prison and photos of government officials with the caption “Blood on your hands.” They described assaults, rape, extortion, deaths and overdoses behind bars. They also expressed frustration at the state’s lack of progress in improving conditions.
The stories are “just the surface” of the problem, said Rodricia Rosao, executive director of the Ordinary People’s Association, a nonprofit focused on helping formerly incarcerated people.
“We lost a lot of lives. A lot of blood was shed,” Russo said.
the For years, the state’s prison system has faced criticism for high rates of violence. Decreased employmentA Low parole rate And use pandemic funds to build them New big prison.
Last year, the prison system saw 277 deaths, including at least 12 homicides, said Eddie Burkhalter, a researcher at the nonprofit Center for Law and Justice, Alabama Appleseed. Burkhalter said the overall prison death rate in Alabama in 2023 was five times the national average across state prisons.
During the legislative meeting, the head of state prisons described the department’s efforts to improve conditions.
Corrections Commissioner Jon Hamm told lawmakers during a committee meeting that construction is 75% complete on the state’s new 4,000-bed mega-prison. He said the country was also making progress in employment, which he described as key to providing better conditions.
“It all depends on recruitment of correction officers,” Hamm said.
But Hamm told lawmakers they need to realize that the number of inmates in state prisons “has gone up dramatically, and we’re on an upward trajectory.”
The number of state inmates increased from 20,904 inmates in 2023 to 21,803 inmates this summer.
US Department of Justice She filed a lawsuit in 2020 v. the state of Alabama, arguing that conditions in the prison system — which the Justice Department has described as one of the most understaffed and violent in the country — are so bad that the state is violating its ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
“The system is broken from start to finish,” Rep. Chris England said after the meeting.
“You could make an 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, He died in 2019 After being beaten by officers during an altercation at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility. Her son’s death and Ray’s quest for answers are featured heavily in the documentary “The Alabama Solution.”
The state cleared the officers of wrongdoing but agreed to pay $250,000 to settle the wrongful death lawsuit. Ray said Wednesday she remains hopeful for more accountability, including for the state to reopen the investigation.
“Why do they continue to allow this person to hurt our loved ones,” Wray said Wednesday.