Derrek Wendell Martin
Derrek Wendell Martin was 38 years old. Early in the morning of December 12, 2023, he was assaulted in his dormitory at Elmore Correctional Facility; staff found him conscious, but he grew worse at the Staton health unit and was pronounced dead. The Alabama Department of Corrections named another man held at the prison as a suspect. Witnesses told the Equal Justice Initiative that the officer assigned to his dorm was asleep and that no staff answered his cries for help. One report gives the date of his death as December 13.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (neglect alleged). The Alabama Department of Corrections says another prisoner assaulted Martin after a verbal altercation, and Equal Justice Initiative, citing witnesses, says the assigned officer was asleep and no staff answered his cries for help.
Reported by: Alabama Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Equal Justice Initiative (advocates); witnesses.