Jerry Purnell
Jerry Purnell, 67, died on May 7, 2021, at St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama, where he was held in the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections. The department said he was found unresponsive in his cell and that attempts to save him failed, and it is investigating his death as a possible suicide. The Equal Justice Initiative said it received reports that his death was a suicide and that he died in a segregation cell.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide. The Alabama Department of Corrections is investigating his death as a possible suicide, and the Equal Justice Initiative received reports that it was a suicide.
Reported by: Alabama Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Equal Justice Initiative (advocates).