Two lawsuits filed Wednesday against Camp SAYLA, a youth residential facility in Henry County, allege brutal abuse and systemic neglect of children in its care. The lawsuits describe a “house of horrors” environment where children were beaten with broomsticks, assaulted with socks filled with potatoes, thrown into trash cans, and forced to fight each other for rewards in a staff-created “bounty system.”
“I have represented child after child who was abused in these kinds of facilities,” said Birmingham attorney Tommy James. “This isn’t just about Camp SAYLA—it is about a broken system across Alabama and the country that hides abuse behind locked doors. This case is about justice for our clients, but it is also a warning to every other facility: this kind of abuse won’t be tolerated—not in Alabama, not anywhere.”
James is joined by fellow Birmingham attorney Jeremy Knowles of Morris Haynes and Pensacola attorney Caleb Cunningham of Levin Papantonio in filing the lawsuits, and the team says they represent children in similar camps across the state…