ATMORE, Ala. (AP) - A search of the prison where Alabama conducts executions has turned up multiple weapons and cellphones.
The Department of Corrections says about 300 officers from state and local agencies began a security sweep before dawn Thursday at Holman prison near Atmore. The state's death chamber is located at the maximum-security lockup.
Photos released by the agency show authorities already have found multiple weapons and cellphones in the 870-man prison.
A spokesman says the search for contraband is continuing.
A similar search earlier this year at the roughly 900-inmate St. Clair prison in Springville turned up about 160 weapons, nearly 50 cellphones and drugs.
A statement by deputy prison commissioner Charles Daniels says large-scale searches are being staged to reverse a trend of increased violence in Alabama prisons.