Rocrast Mack
Rocrast Donnell Mack, 24, was a father whose mother said "He loved his baby." He was held at Ventress Correctional Facility in Clayton, Alabama, where on August 4, 2010, witnesses and prison records said six corrections officers beat him after an altercation with a female guard, and he died the next morning at a hospital in Montgomery. The Alabama Department of Corrections said he was hurt while being restrained after attacking a female officer, a position the family disputes, saying officers beat him to death. In 2013 a federal jury convicted former lieutenant Michael Smith of violating Mack's constitutional rights, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, and the state later settled a family lawsuit for $900,000.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed). The Alabama Attorney General's indictment and a federal jury verdict say correctional officers beat Rocrast Donnell Mack to death, while the Alabama Department of Corrections said he was hurt while being restrained, and his family suspects officers beat him.
Reported by: Alabama Attorney General (outside investigators); Alabama Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); his family; EJI (advocates); HuffPost reporting from witness accounts and records (reporters); federal jury; witnesses.
Lawsuit: His family sued the State of Alabama and the state settled the lawsuit for $900,000.
News reports (6)
- 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
- Ex-supervisor found guilty in Ala. inmate death - San Diego Union-Tribune
- AG Strange, Doc Commissioner Thomas Announce Arrest of Former Correctional Lieutenant for Murder of Inmate at Ventress Correctional Facility