Torture, rape, murder: Shocking details from the federal investigation of Alabama’s prison crisis
Today 6:03 AM

By Jeremy Gray | jgray@al.com

Sexually assaulted Alabama prison inmates fear reporting abuse, knowing they will be punished for what prison officials say is deliberately creating a safety hazard.

Family members of inmates are extorted by other inmates who threaten their imprisoned loved ones -- unless the family pays a prisoner’s drug debt.

Understaffed prisons are overflowing with inmates who are armed with makeshift weapons and will kill officers over food and fellow inmates for any number of reasons.

Inmates are drugged, raped and tortured for days at a time, sometimes in retaliation for reporting sexual abuse. ... These are the findings of a federal investigation of Alabama prisons, released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Here are some of the more disturbing findings:

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