A new contract between the Alabama Department of Corrections and a law firm that has been paid millions over the past several years promises to draw plenty of attention during Thursday’s Contract Review Committee meeting, thanks to a controversial history and a massive, ongoing bankruptcy that has upended health care within Alabama’s prisons.
The contract itself—a $200,000 retainer for the Butler Snow LLC., law firm, which employs attorney Bill Lunsford—is not, itself, all that controversial or noteworthy. The contract states that attorneys from the firm will monitor the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings taking place in Florida, where YesCare, which held a billion-dollar contract to manage Alabama’s prison health care, is going through consolidated bankruptcy proceedings.
But then, there’s the history.
Lunsford is a bit controversial, if for no other reason than he has been paid buckets of money over the past several years through various ADOC contracts. In all, between 2020 and 2025, Lunsford took in more than $42 million representing Alabama in a number of different lawsuits, but primarily the state’s ongoing—and ridiculously stupid—fight against federal takeover. (Alabama’s prisons are so bad that even the Trump DOJ filed suit.)
It’s worth noting that no one has ever claimed that Lunsford has done a bad job, or that he’s done anything even remotely questionable, much less unethical, to procure those contracts. But that’s still a lot of money that many folks have argued could have been better spent actually fixing our deathtrap prisons.
However, there is a bit of controversy over Lunsford’s involvement in this particular matter.
That’s because back in early 2023, the state had to scrap its prison health care deal with YesCare because of a conflict of interest and allegations of “undue influence” during the awarding of the contract.
During a Contract Review Committee meeting in February 2023, ADOC’s general counsel told lawmakers on the committee that it was forced to re-do the bidding process after learning that Lunsford had been seated on YesCare’s board and that the company had received “inside information” during the bidding process.
ADOC scrapped the initial awarding of the $1.04 billion contract, provided all bidders with the “inside information” and restarted the bidding process.
ADOC wouldn’t provide more specific information on the issue, such as what the information was or who provided it. ADOC’s general counsel said a review of the matter found that no undue influence occurred.
“The attorney who represents us in that litigation where healthcare is an issue is sitting on the board of a competing bidder, and that company got the bid?” Rep. Chris England observed during the 2023 meeting. “It’s almost like if we let this go without doing something, we’re almost complicit.”
England also predicted at the time that YesCare would never be able to fulfill its obligation to the state, because the cost of providing healthcare services to Alabama’s prisons was astronomical. England actually predicted that “this is a deal destined to fail,” and said the company would be in bankruptcy soon.
That’s precisely what happened.
In May, YesCare filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and told employees that it didn’t have enough money to pay them. The company currently owes its employees millions in back wages and paid time off, but said in a statement in June that it would need a court order before it could make those payments.
ADOC terminated its five-year contract with YesCare in April, citing the fact that the company had failed to meet its obligations under the contract. More than 200 vendors across Alabama, including ambulance services, providers and hospitals, have stated in court filings that they are owed money from YesCare for services provided.
In late April, the state signed a new deal with Birmingham-based NaphCare to take over prison healthcare. That deal—$500 million over 24 months—came together quickly and included upfront money so the new company could pay the old company’s employees.
It is all part of a horrible prison system that continues to cost taxpayers an obscene amount of money due to gross mismanagement, understaffing and overcrowding. Alabama’s prison system rates as one of the deadliest in America, and while we spend less on general care, guard pay and healthcare for prisoners, we typically more than make up for those savings in litigation expenses and other costs.
But we appear to be trapped in this cycle of death and stupidity.
Alabama’s government is dominated by Republicans, and they mostly seem unwilling to take meaningful steps—aside from building ridiculously expensive new prisons—to address the well known problems out of fear of being perceived as soft on criminals.
All of which leads to scenes like the one that will play out on Thursday, when lawmakers address another questionable contract to deal with an issue that was questionable from the very start.
