Judge: Prison staffing levels will be issue on DOJ lawsuit

By KIM CHANDLER
Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge ruled that prison staffing levels will remain an issue in the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Alabama’s corrections system. The U.S. Department of Justice last year sued Alabama saying male inmates live in unsafe prisons with excessive levels of violence. U.S. District Judge David Proctor on Friday refused Alabama’s request to dismiss staffing issues from the litigation. But Proctor agreed with state lawyers that some of the Justice Department’s allegations were overly broad. He said the Justice Department must file the amended complaint within 45 days.