By Jay Reeves
The Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama will increase staffing and fix leaky roofs at its highest-security prison to help settle a lawsuit over conditions at the overcrowded penitentiary.
Those changes are part of a settlement announced by lawyers for inmates who sued in federal court, alleging that Donaldson Correctional Facility is unconstitutionally crowded and dangerous.
Inmate attorneys said Thursday the state agreed to make changes that also include reporting violence that occurs at the prison near Birmingham.
A prison spokesman didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment. But state officials have filed court documents confirming a settlement in the 2009 lawsuit.
The Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights filed the lawsuit on behalf of inmates. A professional organization of prison guards filed papers supporting some of the claims in the suit.