Holman correctional officer arrested for smuggling meth into prison
The officer was detained on Wednesday and charged with attempting to distribute a controlled substance.
Last week, an Alabama correctional officer at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore was arrested on suspicion of smuggling illegal contraband into the maximum-security prison.
The officer was detained on Wednesday, Oct. 9 and charged with attempting to distribute a controlled substance, promoting prison contraband, and using her official office for personal gain -- all of which are felonies. It is alleged that the officer in question smuggled methamphetamine into Holman Correctional Facility and then distributed it to an inmate at the prison.
Holman is the primary facility for Alabama's death row inmates and the only prison in Alabama that carries out executions. Correctional officers at the facility -- including those in the well-compensated execution team -- have previously faced scrutiny for abuse and mistreatment of incarcerated people.
Holman is also where the states' nitrogen hypoxia executions have taken place, drawing national attention as the first facility to use the experimental and highly-controversial method.
And Holman is not alone in facing scandal. The whole of Alabama's prison system has been criticized extensively for years, with family members and advocates decrying the conditions at Holman and other state correctional facilities. Last year, inmate deaths -- including overdoses from illicit drugs -- reached a record high in the state's prisons.
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Alabama and the ADOC, arguing that the state's prisons were so understaffed and violent that their conditions constituted a violation of the Eighth Amendment's cruel and unusual punishment clause.
Amidst the controversies, ADOC has recently been trying to reduce barriers-to-entry for aspiring correctional officers. Earlier this year, the department partnered with the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) to institute the so-called ACTIVATE program. ACTIVATE aims to help applicants meet pre-hiring requirements for correctional officer positions while also giving them the chance to earn up to nine free credit hours at an Alabama community college.
“There are plenty of applicants who want to serve our state by becoming well-trained correctional officers, but they need extra help to reach that goal," said ADOC Commissioner John Q. Hamm. "The ACTIVATE program is a huge leap toward ensuring their success and the success of Alabama’s correctional facilities."
