Federal Oversight Ends at Tutwiler Prison

Alabama's Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women is no longer under federal court oversight after a judge formally dismissed a long-running Department of Justice lawsuit and terminated the consent decree that has governed the prison since 2015.

Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Thursday that U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson entered a final judgment in United States v. State of Alabama and Alabama Department of Corrections, ending more than a decade of federal supervision at the Wetumpka prison. The ruling follows a joint agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Alabama to terminate the remaining provisions of the consent decree after court-appointed monitors found the prison had achieved compliance with all 44 required reforms.

The consent decree was approved in 2015 after a federal investigation found widespread deficiencies at the state's primary women's prison, including failures involving staff conduct, inmate safety, reporting procedures, oversight, and investigations into allegations of abuse. Over the past decade, Alabama implemented reforms covering staff training, prison policies, supervisory practices, and systems for reporting and investigating misconduct. Court monitors later concluded the prison had met each requirement of the decree, leading both the Justice Department and the State to jointly seek termination of the remaining federal oversight.

"This judgment marks an important milestone for Alabama. Over the past decade, the Alabama Department of Corrections has made real, measurable progress in strengthening oversight and safety at Tutwiler, and this judgment reflects that work," Marshall said.

Judge Thompson's order dismisses the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be reopened or refiled. The final judgment also provides that each side will bear its own legal costs and that neither party has any continuing financial obligations related to the litigation.

The case stemmed from a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that began in 2013 after allegations of widespread sexual abuse and harassment by correctional officers at Tutwiler. Federal investigators concluded that prison officials had failed to protect inmates from staff misconduct, prompting the 2015 consent decree requiring sweeping reforms to staffing, training, reporting procedures, investigations, and oversight. Since then, Alabama has invested millions of dollars in improving conditions at the prison, and court-appointed monitors gradually found the state in compliance with all 44 provisions of the decree.

While the Tutwiler case has now been dismissed with prejudice, ending federal oversight of the women's prison, broader litigation over conditions in Alabama's men's prison system remains pending in federal court.