On January 15, 1992, a group of prisoners incarcerated in the Alabama Department of Corrections brought suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama under 42 U.S.C. §1983 challenging the adequacy of mental health treatment provided by state prison officials. The plaintiffs, mentally ill prisoners, were represented by several private attorneys and the Southern Poverty Law Center. They were granted class certification on September 15, 1993. The case was later referred to mediation.

The District Court (Judge W. Harold Albritton III) approved a settlement agreement on September 28, 2000. The settlement agreement established a schedule for implementing various improvements for mental health treatment. James Quigley, Alabama DOC Settles Mental Health Class Action, Prison Legal News, July 2003, at 29. The improvements included comprehensive mental health policies, procedures and program manuals; bed space increases and mental health facility renovations, staff increases and training; and a requirement of National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) accreditation by April 2002. The agreement also appointed Jane Haddad to facilitate the implementation of the agreement and to oversee its compliance. The case was closed on June 27, 2001.

Tom Madison - 03/27/2006


compress summary