PA Brazeal/FacebookA prison in southern Alabama was in lockdown on Saturday after a violent uprising left two prison officials injured.
About 100 inmates were involved in the disturbance, in which inmates took control of a prison dorm and started a fire in the hallway.
Alabama department of corrections spokesman Bob Horton said a prison warden and a corrections officer were stabbed during the riot in at the William C Holman correctional facility in southern Alabama, just outside of Atmore. Their injuries were not life-threatening.
Holman serves as the state’s only execution facility, although the dormitory where the riot broke out is not death row.
Footage from inside the prison shows inmates lighting fires.
Riot at Holman Correctional Fac #FREEMEANDALLMYNIGGAZ #FREEALABAMA
Posted by PA Brazeal on Friday, 11 March 2016
Horton added that three emergency response teams were deployed to bring the prison dorm under control.
It’s believed the violence erupted Friday night when an inmate stabbed an officer while they were trying to break up a fight between two inmates. Warden Carter Davenport was then stabbed when he and other officers arrived to assist.
A Facebook post believed to be from another inmate, Lester Hails, shows images of fires burning at the facility.
Atmore Prison has been took over! ! The Warden has been stabbed
Posted by Lester Hails on Friday, 11 March 2016
The most recent monthly statistics available from the state show 830 prisoners housed at Holman in December. The prison’s population included 161 men on death row.
It was the second violent incident within a week in the state’s prison system, after a corrections officer was stabbed on Monday at St Clair correctional facility in Springville while trying to break up a fight between two inmates.
Governor Robert Bentley said that he was thankful that there were no major injuries in the riot, but added that prisons are seriously overcrowded and their ‘poor design makes them a major safety concern’.
I'm thankful that there are no major injuries from the #Holman riot. Our DOC team did a good job getting the prison under control.
— Dr. Robert Bentley (@DrRobertBentley) March 12, 2016
These riots & other issues in the prison system will continue if the problem isn't addressed. I have a plan & encourage the Leg. to pass it.
— Dr. Robert Bentley (@DrRobertBentley) March 12, 2016
In February, Bentley proposed spending $800 million on prison construction, as according to the Department of Corrections monthly statistical report for December, Alabama’s facilities were at 182.3% of capacity.
The legislation has not yet been voted on.
