The family of an Alabama inmate has filed a lawsuit against the state’s Department of Corrections, accusing them of negligence after his body was returned without his heart.
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Brandon Clay Dotson’s body was delivered to his family on November 21, apparently in a severely decomposed state. According to the Daily Mail, the 43-year-old was discovered dead in his prison cell at the Ventress Correctional Facility in Barbour County. Before his death, he had been imprisoned for 19 years as part of a 99-year sentence for a burglary conviction and parole violation in Lawrence County. According to his family’s federal lawsuit, his death occurred on the same day he was being considered for parole.
It was also said that Dotson’s body was so deteriorated that the family was unable to do an open-casket funeral, and an independent pathologist noticed that his heart was missing from his chest cavity, which made it difficult for them to determine how he passed away.
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Dotson’s family is seeking an unspecified amount of money, and the suit alleges wrongful death, along with blaming the prison officials for failing to ensure Dotson’s safety, neglecting his medical needs, and mishandling his remains. The suit was filed by Dotson’s daughter, Audrey Marie Dotson, and his mother, Audrey South, who also said his body was released five days after his death.
‘The Alabama Department of Corrections – or an agent responsible for conducting the autopsy or transporting the body to his family – had, inexplicably and without the required permission from Mr. Dotson’s next of kin, removed and retained Mr. Dotson’s heart,’
The complaint also listed ADOC Chief Deputy Commissioner of Corrections Greg Lovelace and Ventress Correctional Facility Warden Karen Williams as defendants. It said his heart could’ve been removed when the facility performed its autopsy.
‘Defendants performed an autopsy on the deceased and removed the heart, thereby concealing the true cause of death. By taking this action, Defendants intentionally or recklessly destroyed or altered key evidence that deprived Plaintiff of the ability to determine how the deceased died through an independent autopsy,’
The family also alleges that Dotson’s heart could’ve been given to the University of Alabama-Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine for student research. In 2022, 260 inmates have died while under Alabama prison custody and the number is similar for this year.
