Rocrast Donnell Mack
Rocrast Donnell Mack was 24 and the father of a young son, and his mother has said he loved his baby; he grew up in foster care and group homes and had reconnected with his parents at 18. He was held at Ventress Correctional Facility in Barbour County, Alabama, and was injured there on August 4, 2010, then taken to a hospital in Troy and moved to a hospital in Montgomery, where he died on August 5. Witnesses and prison records, as reported by HuffPost, say several corrections officers beat him. The Alabama Attorney General's office indicted a former correctional lieutenant for murder in connection with his death. The Alabama Department of Corrections said he was hurt while officers were restraining him, and his family believes officers beat him to death; the state settled a family lawsuit for $900,000, and a junior officer pleaded guilty in federal court.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed; neglect alleged). The Alabama Attorney General's indictment says correctional staff beat Mack to death, and witness accounts and prison records cited by HuffPost say six officers beat him after an altercation with a female guard; the Department of Corrections said he was hurt while being restrained after attacking an officer, and his family's lawsuit says officers beat him.
Reported by: Alabama Attorney General (outside investigators); Alabama Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Mack's family (family or their lawyers); Equal Justice Initiative (advocates); HuffPost (reporters).
Lawsuit: According to HuffPost reporting, Mack's family sued the state of Alabama and the state settled the lawsuit for $900,000.
News reports (5)
- Ala. inmate dies after attacking corrections officer
- Fmr. Ala. corrections officer charged with murder
- Rocrast Mack's Murder At Alabama Prison Followed Trail Of Violence By Guards
- Another Man Murdered in Alabama State Prison
- AG Strange, Doc Commissioner Thomas Announce Arrest of Former Correctional Lieutenant for Murder of Inmate at Ventress Correctional Facility