ACLU Pockets Hefty Award in Alabama Prison Case

Good news -- Alabama taxpayers have been dunned only $1.3 million by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sued to end the segregation of HIV-positive inmates in the state prison system.

It’s good news because the ACLU wanted $2.4 million for its successful litigation forcing prison officials to place inmates who have a communicable, fatal illness in proximity with inmates who don’t.

Taxpayers also had to pay a private law firm, Maynard, Cooper & Gale, another $1.76 million to defend the state against the ACLU’s class-action suit, according to Al.com.

In December 2012, U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson issued a 152-page ruling against Alabama’s Department of Corrections, ordering it to integrate HIV-positive inmates with other inmates. Separating the inmates, the judge said, violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

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