LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A former corrections officer who resigned after 13 years is speaking out about unsafe conditions inside one of Alabama’s largest prisons. 

Stacy George described the prison system as stricken with violence and drug use, and the hardest thing he had to do was resign from his post.

George told News 19 that the Alabama Department of Corrections ADOC) has not been in control of Limestone Correctional Facility for a very long time.  

“I have people in blue that are law enforcement there and there are nurses and support staff and mental health professionals there,” George explained. “We also have inmates in there and everybody there is in danger.”

George says the facility is so bad due to overcrowding and understaffing that murder, drugs, and injury are the norm. He’s calling for the ADOC to do something before it gets much worse. 

“A lot of these things there’s no excuse for. I can understand the understaffing and that’s terrible but there are people not getting their medicine on time,” George explains. “There are diabetics falling on the floor, and I often had to make decisions on whether this guy is committing suicide because he’s cutting his hand and there’s blood pouring out. There would be a little hole in his hand and I’m trying to make the right decisions because you don’t have anybody to come and get him at that point.” 

George says that most of the time he was on staff as the only officer on one-tier. His only regret is that he couldn’t do more to stop the constant violent attacks.

“It’s taken me about two or three weeks just to get my mind-oriented right because you see these things and these images are in your head and then you leave,” George explained. “Every night I pray for that prison.”

According to ADOC, an inmate attempted to escape from the Limestone facility in yet another attempt to flee the overcrowded prison.  

“He attempted to get out through the inner fence, and he was just one step away from getting out and to possibly harm people,” said George.  

ADOC refused to comment on the admission by Stacy George, but did state that they are “actively recruiting correctional officers.”

The U.S. Department of Justice has an ongoing lawsuit against the State of Alabama over prison operating conditions.  

On Monday, Donaldson Correctional Facility reported its 35^th prisoner death this year.