A federal judge today declared the mental health care system in Alabama prisons to be 鈥渉orrendously inadequate鈥� 鈥� an unconstitutional failure that has resulted in a 鈥渟kyrocketing suicide rate鈥� among prisoners.
A federal judge ruled yesterday that a lawsuit on behalf of prisoners denied mental health care can head to trial as a class action on behalf of all prisoners, noting that there is evidence of systemic 鈥渄eliberate indifference鈥� to the mental health needs of the prisoners.
The 人兽性交, the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and the law firm of Baker Donelson have asked a federal judge to certify its聽lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Corrections聽(ADOC) as a class action, which would allow rulings in the case over the inadequate medical and mental health care of 43 prisoners named in the lawsuit to apply to the 25,000 people held in a prison system that has had one of the highest mortality rates in the country.
