Two of the men died within hours of one another at Donaldson prison. Officials are awaiting autopsies.
BY: EDDIE BURKHALTER
Two men serving at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility died within three hours of one another this month at the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office said in a statement.
Calenes Jones, 42, was found unresponsive in the prison’s infirmary, where he was being treated for a “significant natural disease,” chief deputy coroner Bill Yates said in the statement. An autopsy has been performed to determine the cause of death.
Allen Dewitt Bibbs, 48, was found unresponsive in his two-person cell, Yates said. His cause of death also awaits an autopsy.
A man serving at St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville died last week, the Alabama Department of Corrections confirmed for APR.
Keith Richards, 55, died at the prison, but a department spokeswoman said it’s not yet clear what caused his death, although it could have been health problems.
While Richards’s exact cause of death is pending the results of a full autopsy, it appears that he passed away due to complications related to heart failure,” spokeswoman Kelly Betts wrote.
These may be the latest in a string of deaths inside Alabama prisons, which are overcrowded and understaffed, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the state and the department, which alleges unconstitutional violations of the incarcerated’s right to protection from violence and sexual abuse.