3 stabbed, 8 relocated after melee at Holman
News Staff Report
Alabama Department of Corrections officials confirmed Tuesday (April 30) that an April 26 inmate-on-inmate uprising at Holman Correctional Facility resulted in three prisoners being stabbed and eight others being relocated.
According to a press release issued by ADOC’s Bob Horton, the incident occurred at approximately 10 p.m. when 11 inmates became embroiled in a dispute that quickly escalated into a full-fledged fight.
Three inmates involved in the incident were stabbed, reportedly with makeshift weapons. Two of them were taken to a local medical center, reportedly Atmore Community Hospital, and treated for wounds that were reportedly not life-threatening before being released back to ADOC custody. The third inmate was treated for minor injuries at the facility’s infirmary.
Following the incident, as a precautionary measure, ADOC deployed a correctional emergency response team to augment the staff during each of the facility’s daily shifts.
Prison officials reported that the incident was isolated to one housing area and that no other inmates were involved. Eight inmates were identified as suspects in the assault and were moved to different facilities for security reasons.
The circumstances that led to the incident remain under investigation, and the names of the inmates have not yet been released.
The assault and use of makeshift weapons came just eight days after ADOC agents led a 300-member contingent of officers from several law enforcement agencies in a joint operation that targeted contraband at Holman. The task force seized 356 makeshift weapons, as well as illegal drugs, cell phones and various types of electronic devices during the daylong operation.
Holman is a maximum-security facility with 827 inmates, of which 148 are on death row. It is required to have 166 correctional officers, but currently has only 53 on staff.
ADOC officials are pursuing new options to increase correctional officer staffing through ongoing collaboration with the Alabama Personnel Department, and have also been working to pass legislation that would allow for a 5 percent pay raise, along with incentive bonuses for career milestones, for security staff.
The agency’s strategic plan, to be released in early May, will highlight several additional initiatives intended to reverse long-established trends negatively affecting the state’s prison system.
“ADOC understands that sustainable solutions will be best facilitated by collaboration,” the prison-system spokesman said. “To this end, ADOC is looking forward to continuing to work alongside Governor (Kay) Ivey, the State Legislature, U.S. Department of Justice and the advocacy community to create positive and transformative change for the Alabama prison system.”