[3] In 2015 it settled a class-action suit over physical and sexual violence against inmates at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka.

[7] In late 1883, a state inspector discovered a prisoner working in a mine eight years after the end of his sentence.

Among other things, the judge ordered the closing of "dog houses," the name for hot, dark and filthy cells jammed with inmates being punished.

[3] In October 2016, the US Department of Justice announced that it was conducting a review and investigation of Alabama's men's prisons to evaluate conditions as the Constitution promises humane treatment.

"[13] In his February 2017 State of the State address, Governor Bentley talked in more detail about his proposed three-faceted approach to overhaul the Department of Corrections: "One, close Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women and build a new 1,200 bed women’s facility; Two, consolidate 13 of 15 close- and medium-security men’s facilities into three, new, 4,000-bed, state-of-the-art prisons and; Three, repurpose and renovate the remaining antiquated, facilities into Rehabilitation and Re-entry Centers focused on preparing inmates for release back into the community.

The detailed report outlines cases of inmate deaths, rapes, extortion of prisoners' families and rampant contraband weapons and drugs.

Among them, House Bill 5 allocates $400 million of federal COVID relief funds towards the construction of two new 4,000 bed facilities.

[19] In January 2024, a lawsuit was filed after prisoners who’d died while in Alabama DOC custody were returned with vital organs missing.

Prisoners' rights groups such as the Equal Justice Initiative based in Montgomery, Alabama, have worked to fill the need.

[25] In February 2018, the Alabama Department of Corrections was responsible for carrying out the botched attempted execution of Doyle Hamm.

In the process, the execution team punctured Hamm's bladder and femoral artery, causing significant bleeding.