https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episodes daily 0.75 2022-06-29 https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episodes/an-alabama-solution monthly 0.5 2022-06-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/bd3bae4e-d0ab-42c8-922f-85badb40e736/block+the+prisons+gradient.png Episodes - AN ALABAMA SOLUTION As Alabama faces mounting federal pressure to improve conditions inside state correctional facilities, many advocates say the solution lies outside prison walls. They want lawmakers to invest in resources to keep people out of prison. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/bbc55a5b-6409-4559-bc98-c8627aac53c0/David+Fuller.png Episodes - AN ALABAMA SOLUTION After serving almost 30 years in Alabama’s prisons, David Fuller reentered the free world with $10 and a bus ticket. It was a difficult transition. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/64e493e5-222a-4598-8e78-7a3457762517/ivey+prep+center+tour.png Episodes - AN ALABAMA SOLUTION State leaders say they want a system focused on rehabilitation and reentry, but it starts with a $1.3 billion investment in new prisons. Episode 7 of Deliberate Indifference looks ahead to what’s next for Alabama’s prison system and the people inside. https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episodes/the-officers monthly 0.5 2022-06-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/63c7ed1a-d7d7-4a35-b00a-f1ac370f5d44/confiscated+weapon.png Episodes - THE OFFICERS Episode 6 delves into what many people call the biggest problem facing Alabama’s prisons: how to hire enough security staff to protect the people locked up inside. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/698ac564-5e0b-4a77-b550-2b18da475274/police+training.png Episodes - THE OFFICERS At the time, Alabama was under federal court order to improve prison conditions, and the department of corrections was adding positions to staff new prisons across the state. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/9a68919c-57d8-4de4-b0a9-7d6c2e01ec60/Rodney+Huntley.png Episodes - THE OFFICERS Rodney Huntley didn’t plan to spend his career working inside Alabama’s prisons. But his plans changed when a recession hit in the early 1980s. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/86d24af8-2c65-48d9-8774-d9f52ad84b55/CO+decline+graph.png Episodes - THE OFFICERS - “You can't intervene when there is no one around to intervene. We're operating [at] dangerously low levels. Especially during COVID, it was pretty dangerous sometimes.” — Current officer employed at one of Alabama’s maximum-security prisons https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/5f09ed9f-d1cd-49ae-9d9d-8d198e9faf84/prison+guards+needed+1990s.png Episodes - THE OFFICERS Huntley joined the team. He said initially, staffing levels were good. But after federal oversight ended, there were budget cuts and layoffs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/ca300557-3db5-48b8-9fcb-5ae8521ff111/Steven+Davis.png Episodes - THE OFFICERS As of late 2021, Alabama’s prisons are operating with fewer than half the number of correctional officers they need, and U.S. justice officials say officers frequently use excessive force against incarcerated men. https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episodes/minimally-adequate monthly 0.5 2022-06-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/f842f441-b6d2-49a7-a071-a4bf788c6850/jamie+lee+wallace+RTU+cell.png Episodes - MINIMALLY ADEQUATE His lawyers say he often slept in a dark cell by himself, with a thin mat to lay over a concrete block. The federal judge overseeing the case would later write that “Wallace’s testimony, and the tragic event that followed, darkly draped all the subsequent testimony like a pall.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/a2c8ad64-163f-4600-9d11-fe44c5bfed8e/Old+Bryce+Mental+Health.png Episodes - MINIMALLY ADEQUATE While Alabama battles in federal court over conditions of violence in state prisons, Episode 5 of Deliberate Indifference tells the story of a high-profile lawsuit that’s been going on much longer, about the treatment of people in prison with mental illness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/d7e0bf6e-93b8-4f0b-a043-cfa0d1facf93/roderick+abrams.png Episodes - MINIMALLY ADEQUATE - “If my son had got the proper care that he really needed, I believe Roderick would be living today. He wanted help. He reached out for help. From Montgomery to Washington, we called, we called and we called. We didn't get any help, at all.” — Mary Abrams, mother of Roderick Abrams, who died by suicide at St. Clair Correctional Facility https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/708716b0-ff63-413e-85a0-b560423378ff/young+jamie+wallace.png Episodes - MINIMALLY ADEQUATE The trial began with testimony from 24-year-old Jamie Wallace. According to court records, Wallace had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, an intellectual disability and several physical disabilities. https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episodes/the-devils-workshop monthly 0.5 2022-06-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/86e6f1dc-7395-4fcc-9814-811d2cd25fea/ingram+state+gradient.png Episodes - THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOP Volunteers, most of whom are affiliated with religious groups, provide much of the programming in Alabama’s prisons. They lead Bible studies and church services, as well as GED courses and classes about life skills. Officials with the Alabama Department of Corrections say the programs represent their commitment to rehabilitate incarcerated people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/e6bc37e2-8e3f-445a-8722-c8a03991a6f6/kervin+jones+gradient.png Episodes - THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOP - “When I got there and saw men, saw people who made some poor choices, it changed my outlook … I would hate to be judged for the rest of my life on the worst day of my life.” — Kervin Jones, Pastor of Third Street Church of God in Greensboro, Ala https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/c18831cd-475f-4841-8956-a61ce6639b3e/kervin+2.png Episodes - THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOP For most of his life, Pastor Kervin Jones had a rigid perspective on incarceration and punishment. Then he started volunteering inside Alabama’s prisons. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/cf23caf1-693f-4d87-96c3-c4f3eeddd820/ingram+state+outside.png Episodes - THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOP But inside state prisons, most men don’t spend their days attending classes. Episode 4 of Deliberate Indifference details daily life behind bars, and how volunteers try to bring structure to some prison dormitories. https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episodes/habitual-offenders monthly 0.5 2022-06-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/e9d98fc5-d7db-473d-901f-df43bfd3907e/Parole+Guidelines.png Episodes - HABITUAL OFFENDERS Episode 3 of Deliberate Indifference traces the lasting impact of sentencing laws passed decades ago through the stories of the state’s “habitual offenders.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/b3b79db5-bdd4-47c8-9ab9-68c62b891719/graddick.png Episodes - HABITUAL OFFENDERS It was 1983, a few years after Alabama passed a new law that mandated longer sentences for people convicted of multiple felonies. The Habitual Felony Offender Act helped quadruple Alabama’s prison population by the early 2000s, and it kept Ron McKeithen behind bars for nearly 40 years. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/beb3660a-929d-4983-91f4-56101ce6391c/Ron+McKeithen+Gradient.png Episodes - HABITUAL OFFENDERS Ron McKeithen’s record included a conviction of third-degree burglary, plus two felonies for illegal possession and fraudulent use of a credit card. Then he and a friend stole a few hundred dollars from a convenience store. https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episodes/punt-bama-punt monthly 0.5 2022-06-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/f0afd601-7ad8-426c-81dc-3f9f16629170/UPI+Brief+Gradient.png Episodes - PUNT BAMA PUNT Judge Johnson issued a landmark opinion detailing horrific violence and calling for drastic change. He wrote, “the conditions in which Alabama prisoners must live … create an atmosphere in which inmates are compelled to live in constant fear of violence, in imminent danger to their physical well-being, and without opportunity to seek a more promising future.” The ruling led to more than a decade of federal intervention in Alabama’s prison system. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/4cda3ffa-34e7-4a13-9efe-937b4cefccbf/Judge+Johnson+Gradient.png Episodes - PUNT BAMA PUNT Judge Frank M. Johnson was well-known, famous for his rulings in support of the civil rights movement, and deemed “the most hated man in Alabama” by the Ku Klux Klan. In 1976, his attention turned to the state’s prison system. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/c3296667-58bc-41a4-9aa7-79f8984d6b1c/Convict+Leasing+Gradient.png Episodes - PUNT BAMA PUNT Today, Alabama is back in federal court for nearly the same reasons. Episode 2 of Deliberate Indifference recounts the bitter battle that unfolded almost 50 years ago and how it was shaped by a history of racism and forced labor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/4d5fe5c1-7b17-4bde-8fac-c68e05094195/Alfred+Collins+Gradient.png Episodes - PUNT BAMA PUNT - “Getting Blacks to be criminalized was actually not that hard because whites controlled the police force, the sheriff’s department, the courts. And they would convict them oftentimes of quite minor charges.” — Bob Corley, retired history professor in Birmingham https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episodes/an-alabama-problem monthly 0.5 2022-06-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/a8a6d24b-4059-475a-a8f7-2f8fee2a7596/Brandon+and+Anyia.jpg Episodes - AN ALABAMA PROBLEM Episode 1 of Deliberate Indifference takes you behind bars. Hear the story of Brandon Ladd, one of dozens of men murdered in Alabama's prisons since the DOJ sounded the alarm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/e2073239-b8fe-48fb-81ef-51ca0cf3586c/justice+report+thumbnail.png Episodes - AN ALABAMA PROBLEM - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/371fe660-c8b3-476c-89f5-80a6417bc0b2/prison_yard.jpg Episodes - AN ALABAMA PROBLEM The report came out in early April 2019. In graphic detail, the U.S. Department of Justice recounted dozens of stories of men stabbed in the head, beaten with metal locks and repeatedly raped inside Alabama’s prisons. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/98cf6938-9a85-4829-b133-40db5414b5cd/Inmates+at+Bibb.jpg Episodes - AN ALABAMA PROBLEM The report said “Alabama is incarcerating prisoners under conditions that pose a substantial risk of serious harm” and “Alabama is deliberately indifferent to that harm.” People inside prison don’t need to read the report. They live it every day. https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episodes/trailer monthly 0.5 2022-05-13 https://www.deliberateindifference.org/home daily 1.0 2022-08-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/b2d74137-eb3b-4dc3-b5ea-930ba3707baa/option+2.jpg Home - ABOUT THE SERIES The buildings are tucked away down rural roads, surrounded by gates and fences wrapped in barbed wire. The public is not allowed beyond the visitation yard, and communication with the free world is monitored. Upwards of 20,000 people live in Alabama’s prisons, a system that siphons more than half a billion tax dollars every year, and yet it can be difficult to know what goes on inside. Recently, the U.S. Justice Department gave us a clearer picture. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/a654b12c-c7ab-47b8-906a-e5cde6e14e56/Ep.+0+The+Trailer.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/0c01b073-d408-44cb-b112-ce849ee74511/Ep.+1+Alabama+Problem.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/4d4128c9-60ee-42f9-9cad-0f7663e67112/Ep.+7+An+Alabama+Solution.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/1653436547791-X9LIUK2ZP407PJK1JW9J/Ep.+5+Minimally+Adequate.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/6a291e10-a046-4de7-9d5d-c8bcea032ec0/Ep.+4+The+Devil%27s+Workshop+2.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/1653436464589-W97D3GR9EG5AL31YKYV9/Ep.+3+Habitual+Offenders.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/dc0ac528-052a-450f-90c0-c00627c3854f/Ep.+2+Punt+Bama+Punt.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/bd596908-d2be-4beb-9f15-dd8e949da766/Ep.+6+The+Officers.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/e6d9580b-9817-427b-a11e-1e90b5190072/mary.png Home - MEET THE HOST WBHM’s Mary Scott Hodgin is the host and journalist behind Deliberate Indifference. Hodgin started covering Alabama's prison system while reporting on mental health care for incarcerated people, which had been declared “horrendously inadequate” by a federal judge in 2017. She continued to follow the story after U.S. justice officials detailed rampant violence and sexual assault inside state correctional facilities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/67037940-5c12-4926-a6ec-014ef19b3ecc/google_podcasts.png Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/a72243b0-8383-4cf4-b4bc-5a0730428b95/audible.png Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/d283e2f9-7aa9-412a-858c-5c00397cccc4/stitcher.png Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/a4cdc5d1-4dcd-4878-85bb-8eef3b284053/apple_podcasts.png Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/9dd1a98e-a448-459c-9b50-9174a08844ce/pocket_cast.png Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/0c1ecff1-ec04-430c-ae1c-7a4b5bdc7f35/spotify.png Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.deliberateindifference.org/about daily 0.75 2022-05-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/ed87778b-11b2-47d5-9f41-ae09166cdb6d/donaldson_prison.jpg About The buildings are tucked away down rural roads, surrounded by gates and fences wrapped in barbed wire. The public is not allowed beyond the visitation yard, and communication with the free world is monitored. Upwards of 20,000 people live in Alabama’s prisons, a system that siphons more than half a billion tax dollars every year, and yet it can be difficult to know what goes on inside. Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice gave us a clearer picture. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/f285be5a-69ca-49f7-9a4f-0d4f0810b7ad/Convict+Leasing.jpg About In a 2019 report, justice officials detailed rampant violence and sexual assault among men confined to Alabama’s prisons. They recounted graphic stories of men victimized in overcrowded dormitories full of drugs and homemade weapons. In a followup report, they described further abuse at the hands of Alabama correctional officers, some of whom use excessive force “for the sole purpose of inflicting pain” upon incarcerated men. The findings pulled back the curtain on a crisis that’s been brewing for decades. And it sparked a legal battle between Alabama and the federal government. Deliberate Indifference is the story of how we got here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/42a28f1e-6c11-4111-b157-1ae2abe320f7/2020+Rally+Study+Group.jpg About In seven episodes, we trace how Alabama’s prisons became among the most dangerous correctional facilities in the nation. We unravel the decisions, the policies and the narratives - about crime, punishment and race - that created a system bursting at the seams, operating with fewer than half the security staff it requires, where men face a near constant threat of violence. Through the stories of people impacted by the system and the people in charge, we’ll ask you to take a closer look at where we’ve been - and what’s next - for Alabama’s prisons. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/346c4b25-5672-44e1-9270-0216d3ad358e/mary_scott_hodgin.jpg About - MEET THE HOST WBHM’s Mary Scott Hodgin is the host and journalist behind Deliberate Indifference. Hodgin started covering Alabama's prison system while reporting on mental health care for incarcerated people, which had been declared “horrendously inadequate” by a federal judge in 2017. She continued to follow the story after U.S. justice officials detailed rampant violence and sexual assault inside state correctional facilities. Hodgin, who grew up in Birmingham, joined WBHM full time in 2018 as the health and science reporter. In 2021 and 2022, she was recognized as “Best Large Market Radio Reporter” by the Alabama Broadcasters Association. She’s also the recipient of a 2021 regional Edward R. Murrow Award for "Excellence in Sound" and several Alabama Associated Press Media Editor awards, including "Best Specialized Reporter" and "Best Investigative Reporting." https://www.deliberateindifference.org/contact daily 0.75 2022-05-12 https://www.deliberateindifference.org/subscribe daily 0.75 2022-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/7f86ab02-5e48-4ce7-8109-0d5f94df3aeb/apple_podcasts.png Subscribe - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/47c3df72-640d-4ad7-a827-c15165185a78/pocket_cast.png Subscribe - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/a8d840fd-9276-4da7-bb3c-dc08b65fc3dd/spotify.png Subscribe - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/369974cf-f77b-444e-8b7e-86b1d509ac0c/stitcher.png Subscribe - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/1b128e43-6322-4bf0-b2aa-ced9858fc91e/audible.png Subscribe - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62597cd2021db46b4fdff72b/9bcc8971-b1c0-42db-8ba1-206a98f6de12/google_podcasts.png Subscribe - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.deliberateindifference.org/dig-deeper daily 0.75 2022-10-12 https://www.deliberateindifference.org/donate daily 0.75 2025-05-07 https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episode-1-transcript daily 0.75 2022-06-01 https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episode-2-transcript daily 0.75 2022-06-01 https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episode-3-transcript daily 0.75 2022-06-01 https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episode4-transcript daily 0.75 2022-06-07 https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episode-5-transcript daily 0.75 2022-06-14 https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episode-6-transcript daily 0.75 2022-06-22 https://www.deliberateindifference.org/episode-7-transcript daily 0.75 2022-06-28