Abuses Point to Alabama Prisons' Lack of Security Cameras

Allegations of inmate abuse at Alabama’s female prison and an inmate being beaten to death at a male prison have pointed to a lack of security cameras in state prisons.

“It creates an environment that is not good for the safety of the guards or the abuse of the prisoners,” said Republican Sen. Cam Ward of Alabaster, chairman of the Legislature’s prison oversight committee.

Testimony about the lack of security cameras came up June 17 in a federal court trial over the beating death of an inmate at Ventress Correctional Facility in Clayton.