Family claims deceased inmate had no heart when body was released from prison

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A family has filed a lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Corrections, claiming that the body of their son, who died in prison, was decomposing and missing his heart when it was returned to them.

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Brandon Clay Dotson, 43, died at the Ventress Correctional Facility in Barbour County on Nov. 16, AL.com reported. He was up for parole on the same day, according to the federal lawsuit filed by Dotson’s estate.

“Although he was not sentenced to die by an Alabama court, Mr. Dotson’s sentence to the custody of the ADOC for a period of incarceration was tantamount to a death sentence,” the lawsuit stated, according to WIAT-TV.

Dotson’s cause of death has not been revealed.

According to the lawsuit, Dotson’s mother, daughter and brother “spent days” trying to obtain his body, AL.com reported. When it was released to them on Nov. 21, the family “suspected foul play,” according to the complaint.

Dotson’s mother, Audrey South, of Moulton, hired a private pathologist to perform a second autopsy, The Moulton Advertiser reported. The pathologist, Boris Datnow, discovered during his exam that Dotson’s body was missing its heart, according to AL.com.

The family then sued the ADOC, the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, and UAB Medical Center, according to AL.com. The lawsuit alleges that Dotson’s heart was in some way received or planned to be received by the university, and the family wants the organ returned. They also want to know why it was removed and who gave the order, the news organization reported.

“The Alabama Department of Corrections -- or an agent responsible for conducting the autopsy or transporting the body to his family -- had, inexplicably and without the required permission from Mr. Dotson’s next of kin, removed and retained Mr. Dotson’s heart,” the lawsuit stated.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala held a hearing in the case, AL.com reported. Attorneys for the prison system said that Dotson’s heart was inside his body when it left the facility and they do not have the organ, according to the news organization.

Testimony revealed that Dotson’s autopsy was performed by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Attorneys for UAB Medical Center testified that no one from the school performed the initial autopsy on Dotson and that his body and organs had not been in its custody.

Lawyers for the school asked Haikala to dismiss them from the lawsuit, AL.com reported.

“There’s really no reason for us to be here,” they said. “(It) just does not involve us.”

Dotson’s funeral was held at Lawrence Funeral Home on Nov. 25 and he was buried in Union Hill Cemetery, the Advertiser reported.

He had served 19 years in prison after he was convicted of burglary in 2004, according to the newspaper.

Haikala ordered the state to provide Dotson’s case file and autopsy report for her to view privately by the end of the day Monday, AL.com reported.

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