[3] [4] The Free Alabama Movement, founded by Melvin Ray, an inmate in St. Clair, led at least two nonviolent prison strikes in 2014.

[6] The Alabama non-profit Equal Justice Initiative had already called for a change in leadership three months prior, after inmate Jodey Waldrop was killed in the early morning hours of June 3,[7] for what they described as a pattern of serious neglect and violence, including an incident when the then-warden punched a handcuffed prisoner.

[10] In June 2016 the Equal Justice Initiative filed a motion in federal court arguing that "severe overcrowding, understaffing and dangerous conditions violate the prisoners' constitutional rights," and that the prison's severe understaffing poses a safety risk to guards and correctional officers.

[13] The TSSN stated that "The corporations who are profiting from endless wars, killing Palestinians abroad, and destroying the earth are the same corporations—from Raytheon to McDonald's—profiting from the exploitation of incarcerated people.

"[14] The FAM demanded that the following be done:[15] • Repeal the Habitual Offender Act • Make sentencing guidelines retroactive • Create mandatory parole criteria that the board must follow • Abolish the Sentence of Life Without Parole • End All Gas Chamber Executions