HARVEST, Ala. (WHNT) – The Department of Justice says the Limestone Correctional Facility is violating the U.S. Constitution by failing to provide safe conditions. 

This is in response to the story News 19 brought you Wednesday when a mother reached out to the station, seeking medical attention for her son who has been beaten inside the prison multiple times. 

The Limestone Correctional Facility is one of several named in a lawsuit filed by the DOJ against the State of Alabama over its prison conditions. 

The suit, filed in December 2020, came after four years of investigation by the DOJ into conditions in the State’s prisons.

In the filings, the DOJ alleges the State’s men’s prisons’ unsanitary and unsafe conditions violate the constitution. 

That case remains ongoing in federal court, with the DOJ updating its suit to now include a second amended complaint that says the State has continued to show deliberate indifference to “each of the serious and systemic constitutional problems present.” 

In response to our story, the DOJ did reach out to the mother who pleaded for medical attention for her son, who is serving time for nonviolent offenses and was beaten multiple times at the Limestone facility. 

The mom says that the prison moved her son into protective custody.

“My son they finally got him to a lock up but it’s their version of protective custody, but it’s the same thing as being locked up. They had a professional look at him. this is the day before yesterday,” the mother said.

The Department of Justice released a statement to News 19 in response to our inquiry saying “our investigation found reasonable cause to believe Alabama Limestone Facility fails to provide constitutionally adequate conditions and that prisoners experience serious harm, including deadly harm.” 

The Alabama Department of Corrections refused requests for comment. The DOJ and the State of Alabama are currently set to go to trial over the State’s prison conditions in November 2024.