SPLC Sues Sheriff Abernathy Over COVID-19 Jail Information
TUSCALOOSA, AL. — The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a civil lawsuit Monday against Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ron Abernathy for not complying with the Alabama Open Records Act after the group says it requested public information regarding COVID-19 outbreaks in the Tuscaloosa County jail over the course of four months without receiving a response.
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The Montgomery-based advocacy group insists the jail is operating at 135% of its capacity and cited an outbreak in May where at least 21 inmates and one staffer tested positive and another in September where approximately 100 cases were identified in the jail. With respect to the most recent outbreak, the SPLC claims there are no corresponding records documenting the rise in cases.
The group also said while the jail’s capacity is 542 inmates, which is based on information and belief, its population was at 739 as of Nov. 19.
However, since making an initial request for the jail's COVID-19 data in May following word of an outbreak, the SPLC says it sent formal follow-up emails three times in the months leading to the final attempt sent on Sept. 24. The lawsuit was then prompted after numerous other informal attempts by the SPLC were reportedly unsuccessful in garnering a response.
Click here to read the entire complaint.
"Since the May 2020 outbreak, [Abernathy] has released little information regarding testing numbers or related COVID procedures to the public," the SPLC alleges in the 13-page complaint. "[Abernathy] also has not released information about how employees of the Jail are tested and what policies, if any, are in place to prevent spread from staff into the community."
The SPLC made the announcement via press release Monday when the lawsuit was filed in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court, asking for the court to compel Abernathy to respond to the group's public records request and numerous follow-up attempts, including providing the number of COVID-19 tests administered, the number of positive cases, and related cell assignment policies.
SPLC staff attorney Alex Jordan said in a statement that jails and prisons are especially vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19, with incarcerated people crowded in close quarters and unable to practice social distancing, while at the same time lacking access to personal protective equipment (PPE).
"Staff come and go between the jail and the community daily," Jordan said. "New people are booked into the jail and released each day. Despite this perfect storm created for COVID-19 to spread and the dangers it poses to Tuscaloosa residents inside and outside the jail, Sheriff Abernathy is refusing to disclose information, which the public is entitled to under Alabama law.”
The SPLC then cited the Alabama Department of Corrections, which has recorded nearly 1,400 cases and at least 34 deaths across 33 of its facilities as other outbreaks have been reported at the jails in Mobile and Bullock counties.
Jordan said there are real dangers posed to the health and well-being of those being held in jail, especially when they are accused of committing misdemeanor offenses, but can't afford to pay for their release.
“Sheriff Abernathy is choosing to withhold essential information that would allow incarcerated people, jail staff, justice system stakeholders and the public to protect themselves from this virus that has proven to be deadly in some cases," Jordan said.
A spokesperson for the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by Patch, citing the ongoing nature of the litigation.
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This article originally appeared on the Tuscaloosa Patch
