Donaldson Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Bessemer, Alabama has long been an overcrowded, dangerous institution at which stabbing and beatings have left men with slit throats, punctured lungs, ruptured organs, loss of vision, paralysis, head trauma, disfigurement, and other injuries.  In February 2009, SCHR brought a lawsuit to improve safety and conditions for men at Donaldson.

When SCHR filed this lawsuit, nearly 1,800 men were confined in a facility built for 968 men; over 500 men at Donaldson were triple-bunked in overcrowded cell blocks in which officers were often absent; over 620 men were packed into open dorms, often supervised by just two roving officers; applications of excessive force on prisoners went largely uninvestigated; prisoner-on-prisoner assaults with knives occurred roughly once every ten days; men were regularly rushed to the hospital with serious injuries; and the Department routinely underreported incidents of violence to the public.

One year later, some improvements have been made at the prison.  The population has been reduced by approximately 150 men; the Department has stopped the practice of cramming three men into cells built for two; there has been some limited improvement in staffing; and there has been a significant drop in the number of men sent to the hospital for injuries from assaults.  There remains, however, much work to be done to transform the prison into a reasonably safe environment for prisoners and officers.     

SCHR continues to work for improved safety for the men at Donaldson.  In March 2010, SCHR completed summary judgment briefing in the Donaldson case.  A trial date has been set for June 7, 2010.