The Alabama prison system has transferred three prominent inmate activists to solitary confinement at Kilby Correctional Facility, with family members and attorneys saying the men are being held in severe isolation. Robert Earl Council, Melvin Ray and Raoul Poole were moved from their existing prisons two weeks ago and are now in isolated cells with severely restricted contact with family and other inmates, according to their lawyers.
The three are among the most visible inmate activists in Alabama, having been featured in ‘The Alabama Solution,’ an Oscar-nominated documentary about the state’s troubled prison system. They were central figures in a 2022 prison labor strike that drew national attention. The transfers come as some groups have begun organizing for a new strike this year.
The Isolation
The three men are being held on an isolated and closely guarded floor of Kilby Correctional Facility outside Montgomery. According to the attorneys representing them, they have been “cut off from contact with their families and are being held in isolation with no contact with other prisoners or prison staff except for a small group of guards and supervisors.”
Julie Sledd, a close associate of Raoul Poole, was able to reach him once after the transfer. “Since their arrival, the men have been cut off from contact with their families,” the attorneys said in a statement. The restrictions, they added, “far exceed standard administrative segregation protocols.”
Family members have struggled to maintain communication. Earnestine Council said she has received little information about her son Robert and has not been able to speak with him. Ann Brooks, Melvin Ray’s mother, said she has also been unable to reach her son, though he managed to make one phone call to his brother. “I don’t know what is going to happen or what could happen,” Brooks said.
Retaliation or Security?
Family members and attorneys describe the transfers as retaliation for the men’s activism. “This is straight-up retaliation,” Sledd said. “They’ve all three been very involved in standing up for the rights of incarcerated citizens.”
The Alabama Department of Corrections disputes that characterization. The department said the transfers were based on intelligence that the men “are engaged in activity that is detrimental to the safety and security of the facilities and the public.” A department spokeswoman, Kelly Betts, added that “all inmates are safe, secure, and receiving regular meals and other services as needed” and that they have had legal visits and phone service.
Attorneys point to documented patterns of misconduct. They describe ADOC’s “decade-long documented history of excessive force against prisoners and its pattern of retaliation against these specific individuals,” including a 2021 incident in which they say four guards nearly killed Robert Council.
Oscar-Nominated Documentary and the 2022 Strike
Council, Ray and Poole were among the most visible inmate leaders during a 2022 Alabama prison labor strike that drew national attention. Thousands of inmate workers refused to work in kitchens, laundries and factories to protest conditions in the state’s lockups, using cell phone footage to document their complaints.
That footage became central to “The Alabama Solution,” a documentary that the academy has nominated for an Oscar in the documentary feature category. The film presents an unvarnished view of Alabama’s prison system through the voices of the incarcerated men themselves.
Andrew Jarecki, the film’s director, expressed concern about the activists’ safety. “We’re really concerned because they’ve had retaliation and abuse in response to all of their activism,” Jarecki said. “It’s particularly ironic that these men who are incredibly brave—and frankly, scholars—and have learned the law and have been leaders and always observe nonviolent means of protest, are always met with violence by authorities.”
Signs of Renewed Pressure
The men’s isolation coincides with fresh organizing for a new prison labor strike this year. Several inmates told the Associated Press that prisons have recently reduced the amount of food and other items available for purchase at the commissary each week—a move some interpret as an effort to prevent stockpiling ahead of any organized action.
The Alabama Department of Corrections attributed the commissary restrictions to a recent change in food service vendors and did not provide further details.