Plumbing Disasters Continue in Bullock Prison in Alabama

Two Nights Before Christmas... (Part Four)

(Photo above from WBRC6 News)

Late last night, I got a call from “Derek” in Bullock Prison in Alabama, where plumbing and flooding disasters have continued in recent days. Prisoners, as usual, are tasked with managing the mess.

I didn’t have my recorder with me when Derek called, so I wrote down as much of what he was saying as I could as fast as I could.

All the floor drains in his dorm are “overflowing with shit and piss,” says Derek. “Everything, shit, piss, overflowing into the dorm,” he says.

Many of the prison staff are “fitting to shut down for Christmas until the new year,” Derek says, and prisoners are telling other prisoners “nobody can take a leak or take a crap and nobody can take a shower… They’re telling us not to flush the toilets.” Prisoners often make the rules as guards are hardly present, and will be even less so starting today.

Many guards, medical staff, and others throughout the prison will not be at work. A small private security force that ADOC has hired to work the cubes will be there, says Derek, but otherwise, staffing will be low.

Normally, prisoners use their blankets to try to mop the water off the floor, a Sisyphean task.

Right now there are two garbage cans in the dorm full of water. A loose garbage bag on the floor is now being used for garbage, “and that’s going to fill up soon,” he says.

The day before, Derek witnessed a prisoner assaulted by other prisoners for being unable to control his bowel movements and having an accident. Now they’re telling each other no one can use the toilet.

(To be continued in Part Five on Bullock Prison. This story was unplanned, so part five will pick up with “Tim,” and six and seven will focus on two new sources.)