Brandon Dotson
Brandon Clay Dotson was 43 years old, a son of Moulton, Alabama, whose mother, Audrey South, and sister spent five days trying to bring his body home. On November 16, 2023, he was found unresponsive in his bed at Ventress Correctional Facility in Clayton; the Alabama Department of Corrections has not made a cause of death public. His family's federal lawsuit says he had asked for help because other men at the prison were threatening him, yet he was moved back into general population. When his body was finally released it was badly decomposed, and the pathologist his family hired reported bruising on his neck and found that his heart was missing; the prison system's attorneys said the heart was in his body when it left the facility. He was buried at Union Hill Cemetery after a funeral on November 25, and his family is still seeking answers.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (neglect alleged). The cause of death has not been revealed; his family's federal lawsuit says he had asked for help because other inmates were threatening him over drug debts and that staff returned him to general population anyway.
Reported by: Alabama Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); his family's federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers); his family's private pathologist (medical examiner or coroner).
Lawsuit: His family filed a federal lawsuit over his death at Ventress Correctional Facility, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.
News reports (6)
- Federal lawsuit claims heart missing from inmate's body, remains not properly preserved
- Family Sues Alabama DOC After Inmate’s Dead Body Is Returned Without His Heart
- Family claims deceased inmate had no heart when body was released from prison
- Inmate's organs, including brain, missing from decomposing body; second case in last month
- Family claims deceased Alabama inmate's missing heart still unaccounted for after 50 days
- ADOC takes heat for dead inmates remains returned to families with missing hearts, other organs