In a lawsuit filed this week, a group of current and former Alabama prisoners say they have been coerced into providing cheap labor to the state and to private employers.

A former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice runs a legal nonprofit, Redemption Earned, that helps aging and sick inmates win release from prison. Last year, 10% of Alabama prisoners received parole.

The federal lawsuit is an effort to get the state to improve prison conditions after negotiations with officials failed to result in voluntary change.

The U.S. Justice Department says there are unconstitutional conditions in Alabama's prison system. The government alleges guards use excessive force on men incarcerated in the state's prisons.