Alabama Prison Inmates' Bodies Returned Missing Organs: Families File Lawsuit

Ventress Correctional Facility, as shown in a local news report from 2019, Brandon Dotson (right) in a photo from the lawsuitPhoto byWDHN | Screengrab

Two families have claimed that the Alabama Department of Corrections failed to return their deceased loved ones' bodies with all their internal organs. One of the deceased, Charles Edward Singleton, was 74 years old and served time at the Hamilton Aged and Infirmed Center in Hamilton, located approximately 90 miles northwest of Birmingham. The prison chaplain informed Singleton's family that the corrections department would handle the funeral arrangements, as stated in an affidavit signed on January 3 by his daughter, Charlene Drake.

Drake said she told the chaplain that the family wanted to make the arrangements and asked that the body be transported to a funeral home. But when Singleton’s body arrived, the funeral director informed her that “it would be difficult to prepare his body for viewing, as his body was already in a noticeable state of decomposition” and his internal organs, including his brain, were missing, the affidavit said.

According to the affidavit, the funeral director stated that the usual procedure is to place the organs in a bag and return them to the body after an autopsy. However, in Singleton's case, this was not done. The Alabama Department of Corrections informed CNN that they do not make statements on ongoing legal cases and do not conduct autopsies.

“Once an inmate dies, the body is transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences or (the University of Alabama at Birmingham) for autopsy, depending on several factors, including but not limited to region and whether the death is unlawful, suspicious, or unnatural,” the department said in a statement.

Drake's affidavit was submitted to support a lawsuit filed by the family of Brandon Clay Dotson, who passed away at the age of 43 in Ventress Correctional Facility in Clayton on November 16, 2023. The family of Dotson faced difficulties in obtaining his body from the Alabama Department of Corrections, and when they finally received it five days later, it was in a severely decomposed state due to improper storage. The lawsuit stated that the family had to employ a pathologist for a second autopsy, which revealed that the heart was missing.

“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 lawsuit said. “Their appalling misconduct is nothing short of grave robbery and mutilation.”

Lauren Faraino, an attorney representing Dotson’s family, called the alleged misconduct “abuse.”

“Alabama’s prison system is characterized by cruelty,” she said. “We are now learning that the horrors do not end at death.”

The lawsuit filed against the state corrections department includes the University of Alabama, which is accused of using inmates' organs for medical research and training. However, a spokesperson for the university has strongly denied this allegation, stating that while they do perform autopsies on incarcerated individuals as directed by the state of Alabama, they did not conduct the autopsy for Dotson. It is not certain if the university was involved in the autopsy of Singleton, and CNN has requested further clarification. According to Alicia Rohan, director of external public relations for the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the university does not publicly comment on ongoing legal matters, but they do have clear policies regarding autopsies.

“We only conduct autopsies with consent or authorization and follow standard procedures equitably for anyone consented to or authorized for an autopsy,” Rohan said. “In an autopsy, organs and tissues are removed to best determine the cause of death. Autopsy consent includes consent for the final disposition of the organs and tissues; unless specifically requested, organs are not returned to the body.”