Alabama Ends Federal Oversight of Tutwiler Women’s Prison

U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson dismissed the long‑standing consent decree that placed the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women under federal supervision, ending more than a decade of court oversight. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the judgment, noting that the Alabama Department of Corrections had complied with all 44 requirements of the decree, which had mandated reforms in staff training, supervision, reporting procedures, and inmate privacy after a 2014 DOJ investigation uncovered widespread sexual abuse.

The case, filed under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act in 2015, is now closed with prejudice. Both the Justice Department and the state will bear their own legal costs, and no further oversight requirements remain. The termination marks what officials describe as a milestone reflecting measurable progress in safety and oversight at the facility.