THE OFFICERS

“Going into it, you can tell yourself you’re ready. You know, I’ve seen fights and stuff like that. But never seen anyone get stabbed to death.”

— Jesse Moore, worked as a correctional officer inside Alabama’s prisons from 2015 through 2019

Rodney Huntley didn’t plan to spend his career working inside Alabama’s prisons.

But his plans changed when a recession hit in the early 1980s.

At the time, Alabama was under federal court order to improve prison conditions, and the department of corrections was adding positions to staff new prisons across the state.

Huntley joined the team.

He said initially, staffing levels were good. But after federal oversight ended, there were budget cuts and layoffs.

“When they cut those people and they cut everything but the inmates … I think this was the beginning of our situation that we're in now, which is for some reason, we just can't hire and retain people. 

— Rodney Huntley, served 27 years with the Alabama Department of Corrections as a correctional officer and warden

As of late 2021, Alabama’s prisons are operating with fewer than half the number of correctional officers they need, and U.S. justice officials say officers frequently use excessive force against incarcerated men.

“You can't intervene when there is no one around to intervene. We're operating [at] dangerously low levels. Especially during COVID, it was pretty dangerous sometimes.”

— Current officer employed at one of Alabama’s maximum-security prisons

Episode 6 delves into what many people call the biggest problem facing Alabama’s prisons: how to hire enough security staff to protect the people locked up inside.

“All of the bad people in the prison are not incarcerated people. There are some bad officers, who prey - p-r-e-y - on incarcerated people.”

— H. LaMarr Clasberry, former correctional officer