Corrections regains control of prison dorm after uprising

Published 10:19 am Tuesday, March 15, 2016

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Dozens of inmates barricaded themselves inside a dormitory at an Alabama prison for more than four hours Monday until authorities were finally able to regain control in what marked the second violent uprising in the same area of the overcrowded correctional facility in three days.

The disturbance began Monday morning when a prisoner stabbed another inmate at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, about 50 miles north of Mobile, said Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Bob Horton. When corrections officers tried to apprehend the suspect, inmates became violent and barricaded themselves inside the dorm, Horton said in an emailed statement. He said 70 inmates were in the dorm at the time, but it was unclear how many were involved in the uprising, which began at 10 a.m.

An emergency response team entered the dorm about 2:45 p.m. Monday and regained control of the area of the prison, he said.

Email newsletter signup

Horton said Monday’s violence occurred in the same dorm where, on Friday night, Holman inmates stabbed Warden Carter Davenport and a corrections officer and lit fires and then shot video of the melee with contraband cellphones.

Emergency response teams had brought the first situation under control by Saturday morning, but the prison was still locked down Monday when the latest uprising broke out.

Monday’s disturbance marked the third incidence of violence within a week in the state’s troubled prison system, which has come under criticism for overcrowding and low staffing levels. An officer was stabbed last week at another Alabama prison.