On March 27, 1995, the Department of Justice sent a letter to the Governor of Alabama detailing their findings from the investigation in the Easterling Correctional Facility. The findings letter indicated that the prison was violating the constitutional rights of the inmates by denying them adequate medical care and subjecting them to inappropriate disciplinary practices. The letter indicated that in order to remedy the violations, the prison should provide inmates with regular physician evaluations and dental care, improve the sick call and pill call procedures, cease use of "the bar" and other forms of corporal punishment, and insure that all inmates have adequate clothing. The letter indicated that the Department of Justice would institute a lawsuit to correct the violations if necessary. We have no record of further correspondence between the Department of Justice and Alabama corrections officials and there is no record of a lawsuit, any settlement, or further action in the DOJ's annual CRIPA Report to Congress or on the relevant DOJ website (http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/). The Annual Report states that the investigation was closed in 2002.

Jaclyn Adams - 03/18/2006


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