Groups file suit charging Alabama with inadequate prison medical careTwo advocacy groups filed a lawsuit on Tuesday charging that a pattern of inadequate medical and mental healthcare in Alabama prisons has contributed to inmate deaths and amounts to discrimination against disabled prisoners. The suit, filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program in federal court in Montgomery, Alabama, accuses the state of violating the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. “I have no doubt that the conditions that I have witnessed and heard about and that are described in our complaint are unconstitutional," Maria Morris, an attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center, who is representing the plaintiffs, said in a phone interview. Alabama corrections officials would not immediately comment on specific allegations in the lawsuit, but said the department was prepared to mount a robust defense of its practices.
Source: Groups file suit charging Alabama with inadequate prison medical care (http://news.yahoo.com/groups-file-suit-charging-alabama-inadequate-prison-medical-212832206.html)