A federal court heard arguments Friday on a lawsuit accusing Alabama state prisons of using slave labor.
U.S. District Court Judge Corey Maze of the Northern District of Alabama, who presided over the hearing in Montgomery, heard arguments on whether to issue a temporary stay on Alabama’s current practice of what plaintiffs say is “forced (prison) labor.”
Plaintiffs argued the state violated current and formerly incarcerated inmates’ rights under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause by denying parole to Black inmates at higher rates than white inmates.
Barbara Jane Chisholm, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said a risk assessment tool in parole decisions was introduced in 2016 to determine an inmate’s level of risk to the public. That was done as a result of the Legislature passing a law in 2015 to reduce prison overcrowding.
“A departure from that, a reasonable board member knew or should have known that departing and disregarding objective standards would inject racial bias,” Chisholm said.