Trial Begins For Mental Health Class Action Suit Against Alabama Corrections

A trial started on December 5 for a class action lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC); the plaintiffs allege that the state’s prison mental health services are so inadequate that the system violates the prisoners’ rights to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment. The lawsuit, Braggs, et al., v. Jefferson Dunn, et al., was filed in June 2014 by Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP) on behalf of the 25,000 Alabamians in state custody. It alleges ADOC neglected inmates’ health needs and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA . . .