Opinion ID: 1103882
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: defense of sovereign immunity

Text: We have previously been confronted with questions regarding the liability of state officials arising from injuries caused by prisoners in two cases; however, in those cases, the allegations were different from those presented here. In Gill v. Sewell, 356 So.2d 1196 (Ala.1978), a police officer was injured by a work release inmate; the officer sued the work release center, the center director, the Board of Corrections, the Board's commissioner, and the State of Alabama, alleging that the defendants were negligent in allowing a convicted felon with a long history of violent crimes to be released to a minimum security institution. We held that the suit was barred by Ala.Const., art. I, § 14. In Sellers v. Thompson, 452 So.2d 460 (Ala.1984), the plaintiff alleged that the members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, while acting within the scope of their authority, negligently and wantonly paroled a prisoner who subsequently murdered the plaintiff's husband. She further alleged that the Board members exceeded their statutory authority in paroling the prisoner because they failed to obtain and review a psychiatric report on the prisoner. We refused to read Code 1975, § 15-22-25, to require a psychiatric report on all inmates who could be considered for parole. We held that under our holding in Gill ... the Board members' ultimate decision to grant or deny parole constitutes the exercise of a discretionary function within the ambit of the immunity shield of Ala.Const., art. I, § 14. 452 So.2d at 461. [2] In Sellers, we pointed out in a footnote that the scope of discretionary function immunity has been expanded to include allegations of wantonness on the part of State officials sued in their individual capacities where ... there was no evidence of bad faith on the part of the officials. 452 So.2d at 462, n. 3. [3] In the present case, we are presented with the additional allegation of bad faith on the part of State officials. In Rigby v. Auburn University, 448 So.2d 345 (Ala.1984), and Unzicker v. State, 346 So.2d 931 (Ala.1977), we held that allegations that State officials acted fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond their authority, or under a mistaken interpretation of the law are sufficient to remove the case from the protection of Ala.Const., art. I, § 14. Since the present plaintiff alleged that the defendants acted in bad faith, beyond their authority, or under a mistaken interpretation of the law, we must hold that the defendants were not protected by the terms of Section 14. In other words, those responsible for the release and supervision of prisoners are not entitled to absolute immunity. [4]