Federal judge denies temporary stay in lawsuit over Alabama prison labor

An inmate in the custody of the Department of Corrections. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

A federal court Tuesday denied a preliminary injunction against Alabama’s state prisons from plaintiffs claiming the state prisons were employing slave labor.

U.S. District Judge Corey L. Maze of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama wrote in a ruling that the plaintiffs, who included six Black inmates, had failed to establish that a “racially discriminatory intent or purpose” motivated a 2019 change to parole standards, or subsequent declines in parole grants, particularly for Black Alabamians in the prison system.

“[M]inimal differences in parole grant outcomes for Black and white parole candidates convicted of the same crime do not provide ‘exceptionally clear proof’ that the parole board is treating similarly situated parole candidates differently,” Maze wrote in his decision.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs expressed optimism and resolve in a press release following the ruling. They said Judge Maze’s order would allow them to build on the evidence already presented, showing that the state’s parole board has favored white parole applicants over Black applicants at a rate of more than 2-1 between 2020 and 2022.

“With the helpful road map provided by the Court, we are confident that through discovery, we can gather the evidence to show that Alabama’s parole board since 2020 has denied parole and extended sentences compared to any point in the last 50 years, and specifically and intentionally denied parole to Black Alabamians,” said Janet Herold, Legal Director of Justice Catalyst Law and counsel for the plaintiffs.

A message seeking comment was left with the offices of Gov. Kay Ivey, the Attorney General and the Bureau of Pardons and Parole.

Maze did allow The Woods Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on ending racial discrimination in Alabama’s prison and parole system, to join the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs in the case filed suit in December , alleging that Gov. Kay Ivey and Attorney General Steve Marshall halted parole in 2019, and that Black inmates were disproportionately affected. They claimed these actions violated the ex post facto and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

The plaintiffs argued that the 2019 amendments to the parole guidelines, which stated public safety is of paramount duty, resulted in increased parole denials, particularly for Black inmates. They cited statistical evidence showing a decline in parole grant rates since the amendments were enacted.

Maze’s ruling stated decisions regarding parole are at the complete discretion of the Board of Pardons and Paroles and detailed the parole histories of the individual plaintiffs, which included multiple parole denials.

Inmates challenge motion to dismiss in Alabama forced labor federal lawsuit

Lee Edward Moore, Jr., one of the plaintiffs, is serving a 50-year sentence for a 1994 murder charge and was recently denied parole in December 2022, with his next reconsideration date set for December 2027. Alimireo English, another plaintiff, sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for a 2010 drug trafficking charge, had his parole revoked in 2020 due to new charges he was later acquitted of, and was denied parole again in November 2023.

Maze also noted a sharp drop for inmates convicted of violent offenses. The parole grant rate for inmates convicted of violent offenses in fiscal year 2018 was 44.7%. The grant rate was reduced to 21.1% in fiscal year 2019 and has hovered around 3% from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2023. But Maze said that plaintiffs had not established an intent to discriminate by the state.

“The mere fact that the parole board is departing from the risk assessments and guidelines doesn’t establish discriminatory intent … It isn’t enough for plaintiffs to assert that the board is applying more stringent parole criteria than before and that this practice has a discriminatory effect,” Maze wrote.

Maze found that the plaintiffs had not established a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of their claims and pointed out that the greatest decline in parole grant rates occurred before the 2019 amendments took effect, suggesting other factors were at play.

Michael Campbell, one of the plaintiffs, said those incarcerated are facing “an emergency every day that Alabama continues to run an unconstitutional, discriminatory parole system in its state prisons.”

“Although we are disappointed with the court’s decision, we are still making progress in our fight for a fair chance and fair hearings, as well as our larger fight to dismantle Alabama’s scheme of forced prison labor. We are confident that, in the end, we will prevail,” Campbell said.

Lauren Fairano, executive director of The Woods Foundation and counsel to the plaintiffs, said Alabama’s parole board is violating Alabamians’ constitutional rights with “shameful and racially-skewed shutdown of parole.”

“This case is already having an effect on the parole board’s practices, as the board is aware of increased scrutiny: since the filing of this lawsuit in early December, the parole rate has nearly quadrupled from what it was before. It’s not where it needs to be yet, but it shows that the sunshine brought to this dark corner of Alabama’s parole board’s operation is starting to work,” Fairano said.

The denial of the preliminary injunction means the lawsuit will proceed without the immediate changes sought by the plaintiffs. The state and other defendants filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, alleging plaintiffs failed to state a legal claim. Plaintiffs challenged that motion in a 214-page filing.

Defendants have until July 31 to respond, after which time the judge will decide whether to dismiss the case.

The post Federal judge denies temporary stay in lawsuit over Alabama prison labor appeared first on Alabama Reflector .